


.v^^' . 






.^^•' .^ 






o 



■' <■- 






e^^ 






A^^ 






^' o>' 






















\ - /ML_, 



v^' .^■ 






:fF?^ 



C,' 



':. ^' 



///- 






\^ 



\^^ .s 



'\ 



V^' 



^. 



\\ 



^^^^ .>^-... 



,V-> c' ' '^4jJ'-' 



oS .C 



v:^>' 



"^z- v^ 






oo' 



" , ^ ^■" xV 



-J- ,v 



0^ . #.- 



'"^'^V^ 



v:^' 



■- ,<A^- 



^' '<. 



A^ 



a\ 






.^^' ":r: 



^.,,^^^ 
.'::''^ 






'>■ V^ 




r Sv-usVxa; l^h-Ffala.. 



THE TENNESSEEAN 



PERSIA AND KOORDISTAN. 



SCENES AND INCIDENTS 



IN THE LIFE OP 



SAMUEL AUDLET EHEA. 

BY 

Rev. DWIGHT W. MARSH, 

FOB TEN YEARS MISSIONARY IN MOSUL. 



_;^' 3 869^ ^^ 



a 

PHILADELPHIA : 

PRESBYTERIAN PUBLICATION COMMITTEE, 
1334 CHESTNUT STREET. 

NEW YORK : A. D. F. RANDOLPH, 770 BROADWAY. 




c^^:7 



9^ ^ ^;4/ 







Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by 

WM. L. HILDEBURN, Treasurer, 

in trust for the 

PRESBYTERIAN, PUBLICATION COMMITTEE, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern 
District of Pennsylvania. 



4^ 



Westcott & Thomson, 

Sterkotypers, Philada. 



y^ 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



NO. PAGE 

l._MAP OF TURKEY AND PERSIA Frontispiece. 

2.— MAP OF THE NESTORIAN COUNTRY do. 

3.— ARAB ENCAMPMENT IN MESOPOTAMIA II 

4.— LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, TENNESSEE 16 

5.— TREBIZOND 40 

6.— ARMENIAN PATRIARCH 44 

7.— ARMENIAN PRIEST 45 

8.— ARMENIAN BISHOP 47 

9.— PLAIN OF OROOMIAH FROM MOUNT SEIR 53 

10.— SEIR GATE OF OROOMIAH 56 

11.— TILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS OF KOORDISTAN 81 

12.— NESTORIANS 109 

13,— KOORDS OF THE MOUNTAINS Ill 

14.— KOYUNJIK— NINEYEH 147 

15,— STATUE OF A KING, FROM TEMPLE AT NIMROOD 149 • 

16,— THE TAKTEREWAN IN THE MOUNTAINS 166 

17,— AN ARAB SHEIK 172 

18.— KOORDISH WOMEN AT THE SPRING 202 

19.— TENTS FOR THE TOUR IN KOORDISTAN 215 

20.— MISSIONARY LADY AND MOUNTAIN NESTORIAN WOMEN 218 

21.— KOORDISH SHEPHERD OF THE MOUNTAINS, IN FELT COAT 224 

22.— KELEK, OR RAFT OF GOAT-SKINS, ON THE TIGRIS 237 

23.— KOORDISH CASTLE OF KOSH-AB, MAHMOODIYAH 241 

24.— BEDOUIN SHEIK AND WIFE ON DROMEDARY 254 

25.— ERZEROOM 273 

26.— ARARAT 275 

27.— TRAVELING IN PERSIA IN THE CAJAVAH 279 

28.— MOUNT SEIR, MISSION . PREMISES 309 

29.— A PERSIAN JOURNEY: CHILDREN IN BASKETS 338 

3 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER PAQK 

I.— A GLIMPSE, GEOaRAPHICAL AND BIRD'S-EYB, OF MR. 

KHEA'S FUTURE HOME 9 

n.— HIGHLAND TENNESSEE 16 

in.— m NEW YORK AND ON THE WING 22 

IV.— OCEAN LIFE AND LETTERS 30 

v.— ARRIVAL IN PERSIA— FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE VIL- 
LAGES, PEOPLE AND CITY OF OROOMIAH 50 

VI.— RENEWED CONSECRATION. HE THAT IS HOLY LET HIM 

BE HOLY STILL 62 

Vn.— FIRST MOUNTAIN TOUR 66 

Vm.— AMERICANS AT HOME IN KOORDISTAN .'. 74 

EX.— FIRST WINTER IN GAWAR 87 

X.— THE STORM BURSTS 112 

XI.— VISITS MOSUL— EXPLORES THE MOUNTAINS 141 

XII.— MOUNTAIN LIFE WITH MR. CRANE 156 

Xm.— MARRIAGE— THE SACRED UNION 175 

XIV.— DURING THE CRIMEAN AND PERSIAN WARS— DRIVEN 

PROM THE MOUNTAINS 196 

XV.— UP AGAIN TO THE MOUNTAIN POST— AMERICAN LADIES 

EXPLORE THE WILDEST RECESSES OF KOORDISTAN 209 

XVI.— AT THE GATE OF HEAVEN 225 

XVn.— ALONG THE TIGRIg— OVER TO PERSIA— BACK TO AMI- 

DIAH— AGAIN TO PERSIA 242 

1 « 5 



6 CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER . PAGE 

XVIII.— VISIT TO AMERICA 255 

XIX.— RETURN TO PERSIA 267 

XX.— A NEW PIELD AND NEW LABORS 279 

XXI.— HELP EOR THE OPPRESSED 291 

• * XXII.— HOME INFLUENCES 306 

XXIII.— EVENING LABORS 324 

•W^XIV.— ALI SHAH 336 

XXV.— CLOSING SCENES 350 

XXVI.— HIS CHARACTER 353 

_4-nXXVII.— VOICES OF THE NESTORIANS 363 



PREFACE. 



Tennessee gave us a President — Andrew Jackson — ^who said, 
" The Union must and shall be preserved." Many have sealed 
those words with blood. 

Tennessee has given to Persia a life and death which say, 
" The knowledge of Christ must and shall he given to every 
creature.^' Many will die to make these words good. 

Various persons in Asia and America, noting an example so 
worthy of grateful remembrance, have for two years past given 
much time to provide materials for this work. The reader may 
now follow this young Tennesseean to the inner fastnesses of 
almost pathless mountains. Adventures among robber chiefs in 
border wars will attract the young. The more thoughtful will 
ponder the fate of empires and vanity of life, as they follow the 
track of Xenophon, Alexander and Cjtus, or muse in the hollow 
tomb of Nineveh. 

Christians, it is believed, will catch fresh inspiration from a 
soul so capable of responding to the call, ' ' Come up higher. ' ' 
They will never weary of looking into the struggles, pangs, joys, 
agonizing wrestlings and glorious victories of this fellow-soul. 

The name Rhea is already written upon the map of East 
Tennessee. It is written on hearts in Persia, and shall yet be 
written on the banners of many of God's embattled hosts. 

These pages, as the reader will readily see, have caught in- 
tense interest from friends in Tennessee and Persia, and especially 

7 



» PEEFACE. 

from Dr. Justin Perkins, of Oroomiah, and from the one who 
was nearest Mr. Rhea in life and in the thrilling scenes of his 
death. The omission of a profusion of valuable matter has been 
the most difficult and trying part of their preparation. 

Only in this sentence can the author disclose how very much 
the work owes for delicate revision and unwearied care in its em- 
bellishment to Rev. J. W. Dulles, of Philadelphia. 

That Jesus may own it in the progress of his cause is our 
prayer. How can we forget the blessed foreign work ! In this 
far land, our dear native land, we sometimes feel as the exiles 
felt at Babylon. 

D. W. M. 

Rochester, February 22, 1869. 



THE 



Tennesseean in Persia. 



CHAPTER I. 

A GLIMPSE, GEOGRAPHICAL AND BIED'S-EYE, OF MR. 

ehea's future home. 

COME with the swift- winged ships outof New York har- 
bor, past Gulf Sti-eam and Azores, between Europe and 
Africa, through the Gates of Hercules. Linger not along 
vineclad shores of Spain and Southern France ; tarry not 
for Italy or Barbary States ; forget Carthage and Rome. 
Come past Etna and Malta and classic Greece, and from 
the eastern end of the Mediterranean, look up at goodly 
Lebanon, more grand with every mile of approach. How 
its snowy peaks catch roseate tints from the flush of morn- 
ing ! Take wings and fly right up to its cool summit, ten 
thousand feet high, and look eastward. At your right, 
beyond Hermon, lies Palestine; but across the Baalbec 
valley, over Anti-Lebanon, beyond Palmyra and Damas- 
cus, for centuries Arabia has pressed its entering wedge 
into Turkey, and, notwithstanding the Turkish shadow on 
our maps, Arabia holds possession of all Central Mesopota- 
mia. Wandering Bedouins threaten alternately the gates 
of the bordering cities ; i. e., Jerusalem, Damascus and 
Aleppo on the West ; Orfa and Mardiu on the No: jh ; 
Mosul and Bagdad on the East. You cannot leave the 



10 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

gates of one of these cities on the Arab side without, as 
Layard wrote of Bagdad, running some " risk of making a 
triumphal re-entry in your shirt." Look across this North- 
ern Arabia, and then at one flight pass over Euphrates and 
Arab tribes, and come four hundred miles to the Tigris, 
lighting on the towers of Mosul at the very gates of old 
Nineveh. 

On Lebanon you were ten thousand feet above the level 
of the sea ; at Nineveh, only three hundred feet. On Leb- 
anon you were by the " Great Sea ;" at Nineveh, at the 
central point, far inland, equidistant from the Black Sea 
and Persian Gulf, the Caspian and Mediterranean, four 
hundred miles from the two latter, and almost on the level 
of their waters. 

. All Arab Mesopotamia south of Mardin, except the sharp 
mountain-ridge Sinjar and the mountain-peak Koukab 
(Star), is hardly higher than Nineveh ; indeed, the Bed- 
ouins never live, and rarely go, where they cannot sweep at 
a gallop over the plains on their fleet mares. The broad 
basin has hardly a tree, and consequently, in its removal 
from any large body of water, during the rainless months 
of summer becomes intensely heated and parched. But 
there is no sandy desert, for, in winter and spring, grass is 
knee-deep, and nomad Koords (called Cockers,) and Arabs 
with countless flocks, roam over the wide expanse, whilst 
their sheep and dogs stain their feet and sides with the dyes 
of myriad flowers. 

No fairer pastoral scene can be conceived than an Arab 
encampment in spring east of Sinjar. No house or tree is 
there for miles and miles, but scattered tents on every side. 
A hundred miles away east and north, the snowy moun- 
tain ranges form a rim of silver to the scene, and on the 
swelling slopes at hand, are flocks of sheep, camels wander- 
ing at will, Arab mares tethered to the long spears thrust 



Mi 







I'll'- 



■ti|m\! 



*" Mil 



i'W/ili 



lliiiii nkiser iii lii 



'!l!! 



iiij ill 1 ii 



i 



P;iiillllll!!llilliiijiij!i!i ■ ''' 



IJ !i' 



'IF 



. 



THE FUTURE HOME. 13 

iuto the ground at the tent doors. Patriarchal forms like 
Abraham or Job, in brilliant costumes and snowy beards, 
sit in the tent shade, while, with pitchers to the spring like 
Rachel and Rebecca, gentle forms glide here and there, from 
tent to tent, or among the lambs of the flock. 

Would that I could make you see it ! Once seen, these 
Oriental views remain a joy for ever. The West has noth- 
ing just like it, although the visions of Pike's Peak, from 
.the plains of Colorado, have some of its features. 

Stand, then, on the north-west angle of the Avail of Mosul, 
where the tower is more than a hundred feet high, and look 
eastward. If it is late winter or early spring, you have 
behind you four hundred miles of Arab verdure on the 
great plain stretching to Hermon and Lebanon. At your 
right the Tigris stretches south to what was the garden of 
Eden, thence flowing among palms and groves of orange to 
the Persian Gulf, seven hundred miles away. 

Just across the Tigris, not a mile distant, lies Nineveh 
and Nebby Yonas, like a chain of mounds and hills, sleep- 
ing for ever. Beyond, at eighteen miles' distance, towers 
Jebal Makloub (Overturned Mountivin) ; and still beyond 
rise mountain ranges forty, fifty, seventy, and even one 
hundred miles, tier above tier, yet still in sight. Winter 
and summer here ever strive, summer never yielding the 
plains, and winter ever holding the hills. So it was when 
Cyrus issued from these mountain-gates of Persia to drop 
down a conqueror on Babylon. So the Tigris flowed when 
Alexander, a few^ miles at your left, bade his soldiers strip 
on the bank, bear their bundles of clothing aloft on their 
spears, grasp each two the same spear, and wade in rank 
by rank, some to perish, but most to reach the eastern 
shore. Alexander passed right by Nineveh, and there, 
just back of Makloub, fell upon Darius and his million. 
The Tigris flows on just as when Xenophon passed, right 
2 



14 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

here, with his ten thousand. Here Jonah came when the 
glory of Nineveh was at its height. 

Take the wings of morning once more and fly up from 
Nineveh to the eastern hills. Strike out north-east across 
the Tigris and Zab rivers and nearer ranges, and finally 
pass the deep gorges and precipices and passes of the high- 
est mountains, and there, high above the highest peak, you 
can look off to the Oroomiah lake in Persia, seventy or 
eighty miles away. But only a hundred miles from Mosul, 
just over the Jeloo crest, and seven or eight thousand feet 
above the level of the sea, lies the valley of Gawar, the 
future home of Mr. Rhea. 

From your high post let your eye now take a circuit of 
forty miles north and south, and fifteen or twenty east and 
west,* and you look down upon the Gawar mountain plain. 
The stream that gathers the icy waters flows north through 
the valley, then turns west and joins the Zab, and finally, 
through gorges and chasms, flows down to the Nineveh 
plain, into the Tigris, and on to the Persian Gulf. Here, 
at the top of the world, the snows often linger in the Gawar 
valley till late in April, and, in midwinter, mercury some- 
times congeals. Snow sometimes falls two-and-a-half feet 
in a single storm, and collects during the long winter to 
almost incredible depths. 

Jonah, even when the fierce sun of Nineveh "smote upon 
his head so that he fainted and wished in himself to die," 
could look eastward and see the peaks where snow still 
lingered. The writer left Mosul for Persia in July, and 
after a few days, within a hundred miles of Nineveh, passed 
over acres of snow. It never leaves the higher peaks of 
the Koordish mountains, although at times it becomes 
almost black. The highest peak, that of Jeloo, is within 
a hundred miles, and sometimes discernible from Mosul. 

Take your position under the great Jeloo peak (the high- 



THE FUTUEE HOME. 15 

est), on a mountain spur jutting from the west on to this 
Gawar plain, just over the village of Memikan. You are 
in the Avild heart of Koordistan. Fierce Koords, and ISTes- 
torians hardly less fierce, occupy the villages in sight from 
your mountain-top, and Koordish chiefs look down, ready 
to swoop from their robber eyries on the traveler. 

In 1850, Dr. Perkins, of Oroomiah, led a large party — 
among them the writer — out from Persia into this upper cre- 
ation. There was Eev. Mr. Bowen of the English Church, 
afterward Bishop Bowen, now in heaven; there was Judith, 
the "Persian Flower;" there was Rev. Mr. Stocking, as- 
cended now to the mount of God, and Miss Fiske the heav- 
enly-minded, also worshiping above ; Miss Rice was there, 
still in charge of that blessed Oroomiah Female Seminary, 
and Mr. Sandretzki, serving still the Church Missionary 
Society in Jerusalem. There also were Rev. Geo. W. Coan 
and Mrs. Coan, the latter (with her husband and Mr. Rhea) 
to be the first Frank lady to brave a winter in Gawar. 
The singers of the party ascended the crag overhanging 
the village and overlooking the plain, and with full hearts 
sung out heartily in God's name : 

" On the mountain-top appearing, 
Lo, the sacred herald stands ! 
Welcome news to Zion bearing — 
Zion long in captive bands." 

And thus over Mr. Rhea's future home, one year before he 
saw it, the gospel banner was unfurled, and we took posses- 
sion in the name of the Lord. 

Let us from this eastern height turn back to America, 
and look into the home in Tennessee which he left for his 
solitary and dangerous post in Koordistan. 



CHAPTER II. 

HIGHLAND TENNESSEE. 




LOOKOUr -UODMUN E\ST TI NNTSSFE 



OF the many beautiful regions from whieli the waters of 
the Mississippi flow, none is more beautiful than the 
great valley of East Tennessee, in the heart of the Allegha- 

16 



HIGHLAND TENNESSEE. 17 

nies. There you may find Blouiitville, halfway between 
the Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky and the Blue Ridge 
in. North Carolina, where Virginia and Tennessee overlap 
each other, thrust in between Kentucky and Carolina. 

Bald Mountain, the highest point east of the Rocky 
Mountains, is not fifty miles away. Chestnut Ridge and 
Blue Ridge, Cumberland Range and Cumberland Gap, 
are close by, in a region, since the war, for ever memorable. 
Waters pure as crystal flow from hill-top and mountain, 
fed by a thousand springs in groves of oak, chestnut, pine, 
maple and beech. The beautiful rivers Clinch and Hol- 
ston, each longer than the Thames, yet mere twigs on the 
vast trunk of the Mississippi, unite not far from Knosville 
and form the Tennessee, flowing on by Chattanooga and the 
bold, picturesque and historic Lookout Mountain. After 
gathering its waters from Virginia and North Carolina, 
the Tennessee flows on through Alabama and Mississippi, 
and then north, through West Tennessee and Kentucky, 
into the Ohio, through which it reaches the Father of 
Waters. 

The beautiful highlands along the great valley of East 
Tennessee, already the home of thousands, will soon become 
the resort of poets and artists, and a health-retreat for sa- 
vannas inhabited by millions of men. 

There, in 1826, the daughter of a general of the Army 
of the Revolution was received as a bride by a successful 
young merchant. Happy hours passed on golden wings. 
But, one month after she saw her first-born, whose adven- 
tures in distant lands we shall now trace, they followed the 
beautiful mother, early dead, to the village graveyard. 

God supplied a gentle friend, who writes : " I can look 

back on the dear little motherless babe whom I so tenderly 

loved and carried around the town to be nursed by different 

jaersons, more especially by a dear aunt, a sister of his 

2® B 



18 TENNESSEE AN IN PEESIA. 

mother, who always seemed to feel it a privilege to give to 
the little helpless one." 

The pastor's wife next gives us a mere passing glimpse 
of a little boy of five, at the hour of family worship, with 
his little chair always near his father, his little hand loving 
best that manly clasp as they two walked to the evening 
meeting for prayer, sometimes sadly to the dear grave, and 
regularly to Sabbath-school and village worship. 

So far as pure air, clear waters to swim or fish in, beauti- 
ful groves for nutting and climbing, and grand mountains 
around can elevate, he had from mother earth the high 
privilege of being well born. A classmate of academy days 
has told us how they sported and studied together, of noble 
oaks on Blountville Academy Hill, not only for sharp 
knives to carve immortal names, but where they constructed 
rude seats among the strong boughs screened by canopy of 
oak leaves — very kings. 

While yet in the academy at Blountville, seated in the 
academy attic, he one day laid down his Euclid, turned to 
one of two friends seated by him, and told him that he 
had been deeply pondering questions of duty that extend 
over all this life and into eternity. He asked and received 
the revelation of the other's soul. Shortly after, aged fif- 
teen, he united with the Presbyterian Church, of which his 
father had long been ruling elder. 

Newly consecrated to the service of the Captain of Sal- 
vation, when he passed thoughtfully into the yard where 
he expected some day to lie by his mother's side, and read 
the maiden and married name of the one who loved him on 
earth for one month as no other in all the earth could love, 
he received a life-long impression. Ever after, by sea and 
land, in the Old World as the New, he cherished his 
mother's memory. Her maiden name was Anna Rutledge. 
Close by her grave he read the following inscription : 



HIGHLAND TENNESSEE. 19 

SACKED 
TO THE MEMORY OF 

GEN. GEORGE RUTLEDGE, 

WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE ON THE IST OF JULY, 1815, 
AGED 53 YEARS. 

Gen. Rutledge, the grandfather of Mr. Rhea, served with 
honor to himself and usefulness to his country in the Army 
of the Revolution, was member of the convention that 
formed the Constitution of Tennessee in 1796, and for 
many years thereafter was a representative from Sullivan 
county, Tennessee, in the State Legislature. 

The married name of Anna Rutledge was Anna Rutledge 
Rhea. She married Samuel Rhea, Esq., and the name 
given to their soon motherless boy was Samuel Audley. 
The father, Samuel Rhea, was a merchant of sterling integ- 
rity and eminent piety. He was for more than forty years 
a ruling elder in the Presbyterian church of Blountville, 
and indeed may be called its founder. He gave liberally 
of his time, money and influence for its support through 
life, and took an abiding interest in all the churches of the 
Synod of Tennessee. He often attended the meetings of 
his Presbytery and of the Synod, and occasionally of the 
General Assembly. By his wise counsels and liberal heart 
he did much for the prosperity of all the churches of East 
Tennessee. No layman in that region took a deeper inter- 
est in the welfare of the Presbyterian Church than did this 
good man. 

The general operations of benevolence had his hearty co- 
operation and support. Early did he enter into the Tem- 
perance Reform, and he did good service in helping it for- 
ward. His annual contributions to the cause of Foreign 



20 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

and Home Missions were generous, and at one time lie gave 
to the American Bible Society one thousand dollars. He 
died peacefully in 1863, in the midst of our civil war. 

Mr. Rhea was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His great-grand- 
father, Rev. Joseph Rhea, a Presbyterian minister of the 
parish of Langhorn, Ireland, married Elizabeth Mcllwaine, 
of county Donegal, near Londonderry. He came to Amer- 
ica in 1770, lived in Philadelphia, Octorara, and then near 
Taneytown, Maryland. In 1776 he accompanied a military 
expedition to Tennessee, and decided to settle in the region 
afterward the home of his descendants. He returned to 
Maryland and sold his property, but, while prejDaring to 
move, died in 1777. The widow and family reached their 
home in Sullivan county, East Tennessee, in February, 
1779, and here their descendants still dwell. 

As Mrs. Rhea died shortly after the birth of her son, he 
was deprived of the affectionate care of a mother's love ; 
but that want was supplied by the nurture and tender train- 
ing of a most estimable aunt, Mrs. Elizabeth Fain, whose 
lovely Christian character was duly appreciated by her 
foster-son. 

After a widowhood of five years, his father was married 
a second time, to Miss Martha Lynn, a lady of mature 
Christian character, and well qualified to assume the deli- 
cate responsibilities of a step-mother. She discharged these 
duties with great fidelity, and secured the aflTection as well 
as respect of her step-son. 

The house in which the boyhood of Mr. Rhea was passed 
■was most comfortable. It was of brick, two full stories, 
with a front of forty feet, and an L back. It was situated 
on a slight eminence rising from a small stream which flows 
through the town. The view was beautiful up and down 
the valley, and the majestic hills, which shut in the view 
in other directions, were covered with large forest trees. 



HIGHLAND TENNESSEE. 21 

In September, 1863, amid the horrors of war, about half 
the town of Blountville was destroyed by fire ; this cheerful 
homestead among the rest, with all its contents. 

His college days were spent in the University of Tennes- 
see, at Knoxville. Here he took a high stand as a student, 
and gained the love as well as the esteem of his companions 
and of his instructors. 



CHAPTER III. 

IN NEW YORK AND ON THE WING. 

FOR the following brief and interesting sketch the reader 
is indebted to Rev. R. P. Wells, well known as a cler- 
gyman in Jonesboro', East Tennessee, and more recently at 
Gilbertville, Massachusetts : 

There lies before me a letter from Samuel Rhea, Esq., 
the father of the missionary, making inquiries relative to 
Union Theological Seminary, New York, with a view of 
sending his son Samuel thither to pursue a course of study. 

After having written full answers to each inquiry, I gave 
him to understand that sending his son to that school of 
the prophets involved the question of his sacrifice to the 
cause of foreign missions ; that a missionary spirit was quite 
prevalent among the students, and that many of them were 
consecrating themselves to the foreign field ; that this spirit 
was contagious, and his son might yield to its influence. 
Thank God ! the father did not falter. 

I knew well under what influences the son had been 
reared, and that the good seed sown so diligently and 
prayerfully would bear fruit in toils and sacrifices for the 
world's salvation. 

No stranger could pass the night in that home of genuine 
hospitality and not be charmed with the spirit that there 
prevailed. Esquire Rhea wa§. a rare man. He had an 
excellent heart; and the goodness of"his nature, vastly 
enriched by the grace of God, shone in his genial face, 
gleamed in his eye and spoke in the tones of his voice. 
Gifted with a large share of good sense and native sagacity, 
and familiar with human nature in business relations, he 
could read men. Scrupulously exact and just in all worldly 
transactions, he had great weight of character in the com- 

22 



IN NEW YORK AND ON THE WING. 23 

muiiity. Being known as a public-spirited, energetic, Chris- 
tian man, his personal influence was by no means confined 
to his own county, but his name was quite familiar through- 
out the Presbyterian churches in East Tennessee. 

He loved the Bible and the duty of prayer; and morning 
and evening he called around the family altar his large 
household, not excusing the clerks in his store, even when 
business was pressing, nor the servants in the kitchen. On 
all occasions his systematic, clockwork plans gave time for 
family devotion. A short portion of the Scriptures was 
read in an easy, spirited manner, a hymn was sung by the 
whole family, and all knelt around the throne of grace, 
uniting in a brief, fervent, earnest prayer. These devotions 
were not tedious, lifeless nor commonplace, but the youngest 
of the flock seemed to take an interest in them. And so, on 
the night of the weekly prayer-meeting, nearly every mem- 
ber of that circle was sure to be in the place of prayer. 
Often might you have heard this good man remark that 
prayers on such occasions should be short and to the point. 

Pre-eminently did a spirit of love reign in that family 
group, and the smile of heaven rest upon that home. The 
roar of thundering artillery has since broken its quiet, and 
the fiery wave of war has swept over it; and wiien I last 
looked upon it, the blackened, crumbling walls stood in the 
midst of surrounding desolations ; but the memory of its 
inmates— their words, their kindness of manner — will not 
soon pass out of mind. 

To a young man going forth from such home influences, 
I felt that the question of personal duty as to the last com- 
mand of the Redeemer would come with emphasis. 

His course of study in the seminary was completed in 
June, 1850. By his classmates and friends he is remem- 
bered as a modest, diligent, thorough student, as a genial, 
warm-hearted friend, and as a living, working, zealous 
Christian. Under the influence of Drs. White, Robinson 
and Skinner, a foundation was laid for his subsequent high 
attainments in the ancient and modern Syriac, the Koord- 
ish and the dialects of the Tartar Turkish. 

Having been accepted as a missionary of the American 
Board, and designated to the Nestorians of Persia, it was 
decided that he should spend the autumn and winter in 
extending his acquaintance and awakening an interest 



24 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

among the churches of East Tennessee and the South-west, 
and be ready to sail as early in the spring as the snows on 
the mountains near Ararat would admit of a passage over 
from the Black Sea into Persia. ^ These visits to the 
churches made him many warm friends, and the pleasant 
impressions left behind are by no means effaced. 

His sermons were well written, and, delivered in his mod- 
est, unassuming manner, commanded the undivided atten- 
tion of his audiences. Long will he be rememht'red as an 
agreeable, impressive, faithful preacher. 

It was a rare privilege to enjoy his friendship and share 
his confidence. The sunshine of his countenance, the tones 
of his voice, the urbanity of his manners, will dwell long in 
the memory. Especially was he beloved and trusted by 
the young. We wonder not that the simple Nestorians 
loved him, confided in him and wept over his grave. 

His ordination as an evangelist was by Holston Presby- 
tery, in the old church on the hill, by the graveyard of his 
native town (Blountville), Rev. Frederick A. Ross preaching 
the sermon, and the writer giving the charge. 

But a short time before this, having fallen in with Rev. 
D. T. Stoddard, with whom he subsequently traveled to 
Persia and was pleasantly associated in missionary labor, 
his views were somewhat modified as to going out unmar- 
ried. It had seemed to him that he could serve Christ 
more eflSciently to be unencumbered with family cares, and 
such a life appeared to be more apostolic and more in the 
spirit of primitive consecration to Christ. These views he 
had adopted deliberately and prayerfully, and nothing but 
the decided opinion of an experienced Christian brother, 
who had been on the ground before him, could have shaken 
his purpose in the least. His choice had been made from 
pure love to Christ and an ardent desire to advance his 
cause, and at that late hour he did not think it wise to 
change his plan, but he went to his distant field remaining 
even as Paul. 

As fellow-student at Union for two j'^ears, the Author 
ventures to add the following recollections of Mr. Rhea. 
When he entered Union Theological Seminary, in New 
York city, in 1847, he joined a band of young men conse- 



IN NEW YORK AND ON THE WING. 25 

crated to the noblest work that can summon the energies 
of the human heart. 

White and Robinson and Skinner — names that live on 
earth and in heaven — and the devoted Halsey, were in- 
structors. 

At that date those consecrated walls were like cedar and 
spice and sandalwood, redolent with the blessed graces of 
living saints just gone in Christ's name to Christ's work. 
Of these,- one (who was never seen by Mr. Rhea nor the 
writer, who first met there) had left a most precious fra- 
grance. He had given a new impulse to the love of souls. 
Up to manhood an infi.del, a wonderful conversion had 
made of him another Paul. Like Paul, he cared not to 
marry. Like Paul, he sought to labor in regions beyond, 
where Christ had not been named. Like Paul, sometimes 
he would be at no man's charges, but in India, independent 
of missionary aid, wrought with his own hand to give his 
life as a more personal gift. Like Paul, he sent his epistles 
to all parts of the woi'ld, urging his brethren to higher life. 
This one young man wrought a great work in Union The- 
ological Seminary. I need not mention his name — better 
known in heaven than on earth, better loved of saints and 
angels than of men — as he still lives to seek the honor that 
Cometh from God only. 

I allude to him because, during the days in which Mr. 
Rhea was in New York, his memory was more potent than 
that of any other student, and he made upon Mr. Rhea his 
mark ; an influence doubtless swerving a little in the direc- 
tion of asceticism, and therefore to decrease as the presence 
and power of Christ increased. 

Even on the other shore, for ever memorable is Union 

Seminary to Mr. Rhea, because there he learned so much 

of Christ and of God's word and doctrine. There he began 

to love that Hebrew Bible which to lose finally on the 

3 



26 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

Koordisli mountains by Koordish robbers was worse than 
loss of gold. 

There, resisting manifold temptations to neglect the lite- 
rary society for city attractions, he was faithful to culture 
in debates and essays. None who have not tried it know 
how very difficult it is in a great city to sustain efficiently 
an entirely voluntary literary society. The writer remem- 
bers well Mr. Rhea as one of the "faithful among the faith- 
less found." That faithfulness to literary as well as every 
other duty was characteristic, and a key to subsequent 
remarkable success. 

But far more than poet, orator, historian could teach 
him, or even any human interpreter of God's word, he 
learned in the wrestle with God's Angel of the Covenant 
to wring from him a blessing in choosing a field of labor 
from Jesus direct. Nor did his Saviour leave him without 
human sympathy ; for, while the power of city temptations, 
multiplied by the aggregated force of young fellowship, 
sympathetic and captivating, to break away from all re- 
straint, human and divine, seems almost irresistible, on the 
other hand, the restraining power of a praying student 
band in Union Theological Seminary generally calls down 
the mighty presence of God's Spirit in a measure that is 
really omnipotent. 

It is unquestioned that few men ever went through deeper 
struggles, going to the foundation of being, than did Mr. 
Rhea in the Seminary. It is believed that he touched bot- 
tom and built upon the rock, and that he built not of hay, 
chaff, stubble, but almost entirely of gold and silver and 
precious stones. The character of his manhood was there 
determined, and his subsequent career was but the glorious 
shaping in the Master's hand of a life then fully given up 
to Jesus. 

He entered Union Seminary a youth, he left it altogether 



IN NEW YORK AND ON THE WING. 27 

a man ; he entered provincial, he left it for ever cosmopoli- 
tan ; he entered a Southerner, he left it an American ; he 
entered it a citizen of the Union, he left wholly a pilgrim 
and a stranger in this world ; he entered it expecting in 
future life a happy home near beloved parents and friends 
in his own sunny South ; he left it expecting a Koordish 
mountain hut for his dwelling-place, and looking for no 
home but heaven. Was Christ better or worse to him than 
he promised ? We shall see. 

We append a closing sketch of Mr. Rhea's early life in 
Tennessee, a fragment from the pen of one whose eyes even 
then seem to have rested on him with some complacency : 

" When Mr. Rhea was at college in Knoxville, Tennes- 
see, his careful father took pains to procure an excellent 
boarding-place for him in the family of Mr. Joseph King, 
an elder in the Old School Presbyterian church, who lived 
up town a long distance from College Hill. In going to 
meals he passed a small white house with green blinds and 
rose-covered portico, in which portico he often saw the only 
child of the widow lady who lived there. The child re- 
members him slightly from that time, and particularly as 
belonging to the small number of young men then in col- 
lege, members of the Church, and exhibiting Christ's spirit 
before the world by a pure walk and holy conversation. 

"Afterward that little family became incorporated in 
another, and removed to Jonesboro'. Mr. Rhea had mean- 
time finished his collegiate and theological studies, and had 
come to the rare, and, to many, unaccountable decision to 
leave home, friends and native land for the self-denying 
life of a foreign missionary ; and it happened that a meet- 
ing of synod convened in Jonesboro', in the beautiful 
church, then freshly painted, and solemnly dedicated, like 
the young missionary, to the service of Jehovah. 

"The two most conspicuous persons at the synod, ob- 



28 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

served by all observers with emotions of mingled love 
and admiration, were Dr. Coffin and Mr. Rhea — one an 
aged man, ripened for heaven by a lifelong service of faith 
and good works in the gospel ministry, approved of God 
and man,. reverenced in the churches as one who had fought 
the good fight, kept the faith, and was now only waiting 
the Master's signal to exchange the cross for the crown. 
He was a beautiful man to look upon, bearing the impress 
of benignity upon his furrowed yet glowing features, and 
wearing a crown of silver hair. 

"The youthful candidate for mission life appeared in 
charming contrast, taking up the implements of spiritual 
warfare, for he was ' but a youth, and ruddy and of a fair 
countenance,' like David, when, alone and single-handed, 
he went out before the hosts to combat with the giant who 
defied the living God. 

" After the service, Dr. Coffin and Mr. Rhea were invited 
to suj)per at Dr. Cunningham's. His Knoxville observer 
was here at her mother's table, and received, for her father's 
sake, whom Dr. Coffin had loved, much attention from the 
doctor, but not a word or look from the diffident young 
minister. During the meal, Dr. Coffin said, in his cheerful 
yet impressive way, 'Are you sure, Brother Rhea, that you 
have counted the cost?' The youthful features were lighted 
up a moment by a smile of seraphic meaning, a sublime 
and holy purpose, as he looked up across the table into Dr. 
Coffin's face, and said, simply but satisfactorily, 'I think I 
have counted it ; I have tried to.' 

"The young girl at Dr. Coffin's side encountered the 
look, which imjiressed her in a manner which she could 
never forget ; and the thrill of sympathy and attraction it 
awakened left its permanent record upon her memory. 

" During the following days of his final preparations and 
farewell visits, many hearts went out toward him in tender 



IN NEW YORK AND ON THE WING. 29 

and admiring love. Motherly ones expressed their sorrow 
that he should go unmarried and alone. Some thought 
that his going was a lamentable sacrifice, while others 
thanked God" for such grace, and thought it noble and 
sublime that he had heart and courage to count it joy to 
follow the Master so. And thus he left his native land." 

3* 



a 



CHAPTER IV. 

OCEAN LIFE AND LETTEES. 

THE bark Osmanli has left Boston Harbor, crossed the 
stormy Atlantic, has passed Gibraltar, is gliding in the 
blue Mediterranean. She has our friend on board. Let 
him speak for himself in his first ocean letter to his parents : 

Mediterranean Sea, 
Bark Osmanli, April 1, 1851. 
My Dear Father and Mother — I have been wait- 
ing several days for a smooth sea, when I could sit down 
and quietly write the many things I have in my heart to 
say to you. In giving you a faint picture of our voyage, I 
will refer to a brief journal which I have kept, and will go 
back to the day of embarkation. At ten o'clock the secre- 
taries and the friends of the missionaries met on board to 
sing with us the last hymn, and seek God's protecting 
presence acrois the deep waters. At two our sails were 
unfurled to catch the favoring breeze, and soon all that was 
dear to me on earth was fast receding from view. I stood 
on deck and watched object after object becoming dimmer 
and still more dim in the distance, until at last evening 
threw over us her dark mantle and the last object faded 
away. And then, as my thoughts began to cluster around 
ray dear home, and as I began to realize that I was sepa- 
rating myself from you, an air of sadness crept over me, 
which I could not bid away. Nor would I, for it was a 
relief to give vent, though in tears, to all those tender emo- 
tions linked to country, friends, kindred and home. Still 
30 



OCEAN LIFE AND LETTERS. 31 

I felt it sweet to give up father and mother, and sisters and 
brothers, for One whose claims upon me were still more 
tender. 

From the day that we started until we reached Gibraltar 
we literally rode upon mountain billows. Not a day with- 
out rain and a constantly rolling sea, and scarcely a day 
without a strong, steady breeze. We were confined closely 
to the cabin ; the decks being constantly wet Avith rain or 
spray, the winds heavy and cold, we seldom found it pleas- 
ant to walk on deck. 

I have spent the greater part of my time in studying 
Syriac with Mr. Stoddard, Mrs. Stoddard being my class- 
mate. AVe have learned two hundred words, and can read 
the Syriac characters with some ease. 

We reached Gibraltar in nineteen days — a very quick 
passage. How anxiously did we all wait for the sight of 
land ; although our three weeks passed rapidly and pleas- 
antly, it seemed a long time to see nothing but a waste of 
waters. We were hoping for several days that we might 
pass Gibraltar in the day-time. In this our wishes were 
gratified. Early on Monday morning, March 24, we saw 
the coasts of Africa and Spain. Through a spy-glass we 
could see the green wheat-fields on the Spanish coast, and 
far in the distance the dim outline of the mountains of 
Africa. I mourned within me when I remembered that I 
looked upon the home of sixty millions of benighted Afri- 
cans and deluded Musselmen. On my left, the continent 
of Europe with its millions, though far in advance of the 
other in the arts of civilized life, but little better prepared 
for the judgment-seat of Christ. And yet I rejoiced when 
I thought that, as the navigator in the name of his sove- 
reign takes possession of the newly-discovered continent 
or island, so, in the name of my King, I could say to Africa 
and Europe, "Ye belong to Jesus, and though the night sit 



32 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

heavy upon you, it will flee apace before tlie beams of the 
Sun of Righteousness. Your valleys and mountains will 
echo and re-echo the praises of our triumphant Saviour. 
Even so. Come, Lord Jesus, and come quickly!" 

At twelve we passed the Rock of Gibraltar and entered 
the Mediterranean. I had looked forward with some 
interest to the Rock, celebrated in olden time as the pillar 
of Hercules, beyond which the timid mariner did not dare 
to plough the deep ; and in modern times as the strong 
fortress — the key to the Mediterranean — for which, Eng- 
land and France and Spain have fought so fiercely and 
wasted so much life and treasure. The fortress is a rock 
extending three miles into the sea, and connected with the 
main land by a low, narrow strip. It is from a half to 
three-fourths of a mile in breadth, and towers more than 
fifteen hundred feet in the air. Its north, south and east 
sides are steep and rugged, and forbid all approach. The 
west slopes gradually to the sea, and the town of Gibraltar 
stretches along its base. This side, lined with strong forti- 
fications from base to summit, is made as inaccessible by 
art as the other is by nature. Vast galleries have been 
excavated, and are mounted with heavy cannon. This 
garrison, well manned and victualed, is impregnable. 

For many miles after we passed through the Straits we 
could see the snow-capped mountains of Grenada on our 
left, distant not far from a hundred miles. They seem to 
be bare rocks entirely destitute of vegetation. They run 
frequently into numerous sharp points, like so many sugar 
loaves. 

Yesterday was the Sabbath — the sweet day of rest. The 
sky was almost cloudless, the sea was so calm that we 
could have service on deck. All on board were present. 
Mr. Stoddard preached. I tried to sing, one or two sailors 
helping me. We felt it sweet to lift up our voices upon the 



OCEAN LIFE AND LETTERS. 33 

lonely air of that solitude of Avaters, and think of the love 
of Jesus. 

God has given us some access to the sailors ; we have 
given each of them a Bible, but two having Bibles. Every 
other night we read and pray with them in the forecastle. 
They seem to be gratified. Of all men they are, as a class, 
the most abandoned. But we do not despair, for we know 
there is One who can touch their hearts and call them from 
the dead. For our captain we have felt much interest. 
He is a kind man, attentive as he can be to all our wants. 
Unceasing prayer is made for him in our little circle. 

April 7. — We passed Malta on the night of the fifth. We 
are now in Adria, through which Paul was tossed many 
days and nights. Yesterday we had service on deck. I 
attempted to speak a word from 1 Timothy, i. 16: "How- 
beit, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus 
Christ might show forth all long-sufierings, for a pattern 
to them which should hereafter believe on him to life ever- 
lasting." 

April 15, Monday. — This is the sixth day we have strug- 
gled against head winds, while we have beat about in the 
Gulf of Greece. Our captain, finding it impossible to 
force his passage through the Straits of Doro, thought he 
would go up the Gulf and give us a view of Athens. My 
emotions were indescribable when I gazed upon the land 
of Homer, Plato and Demosthenes — a land once world- 
renowned for all that was noble in philosophy, eloquence, 
poetry, arms, painting and sculpture. The captain did 
indeed give us a view of Athens. We saw the Acropolis. 
The Parthenon still remains, splendid in its ruins. Seven- 
teen of the old columns, six feet in diameter and thirty-four 
in height, are still standing. But by far the most interest- 
ing thought suggested was, that just over those hills which 
line the shores of the sea near that same summit, and with 

C 



34 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

his eye fixed upon those splendid temples, stood the Apostle 
Paul, and uttered his thrilling oration on Mars' Hill. 

We can now look into Mr. Rhea's soul through his own 
pencil-marks upon fragmentaiy sheets, evidently designed 
only for God's eye and his own. Thoughtfully notice some 
of the work of God's Spirit upon his thoughts, emotions 
and will : 

March 31, 1851, Sabbath. — Kose by sunrise, a clear sky, 
pure air, mild sun and favoring breeze — a pleasant Sab- 
bath. Oh when shall the cravings of my soul be realized ? 
I have visions of what I desire to be, to feel, to know ; but 
I do not realize them. My unceasing prayer is for God's 
Spirit, that I may realize to the full the yearnings of my 
soul after my Saviour. Oh that I might see that face all 
resplendent, so that my cold affections might be kindled 
to an intensely burning flame! O my Father, holiness, 
spotless and pure, is the craving of my soul. 

Prayed for my dear brothers and sisters out of Christ, 
for several of my godless kindred, and my townsmen who 
have for many years stood out against the truth. 

Monday. — Rose early — had an hour for prayer and the 
study of God's Word. For several days my hungerings 
after holiness have increased. I have longed especially for 
soul-satisfying views of God, but he has given them only in 
gentle drops. But God has evidently heard my prayer. 
He has led me to the Bible. Oh may I not hope that if 
God gives me hungering for that bread which he puts in 
my hands, I shall grow in all the graces of the Christian 
character? But, instead of revealing to me in subduing 
power his holiness and love, he showed me my own vile- 
ness. Only lead me to thyself, gracious Saviour ! I 
deposit my poor soul with all its imperfections. Do thou 
choose the method of its sanctifieation. 



OCEAN LIFE AND LETTERS. 35 

Spent a short time with the sailors. O Father, let no 
one of them perish ! 

April 4, 1851. — Kose pretty early, earnestly wishing that 
the day might be for God, but I can only talk of regrets 
and disappointments. I have before me the ideal of the 
complete Christian. Why is it not realized? Must the 
experience of each remaining day be like this? Divine 
Saviour, undertake for me, or all will be disaster and ship- 
wreck. 

April 5. — Passed Malta last night; visited the sailors, 
read and prayed with them. My heart yearns for them. 
Oh that they might find Jesus ! 

April 6, Sabbath. — Rose early. Beautiful Sabbath morn- 
ing ! Jesus, the altogether lovely, revealed himself to me. 
Wonderful condescension ! oh how little I know of him ! 
It will not be so alway ; I will, by his grace, know more of 
Jesus before he takes me home. Let this inspire me ; yes, 
it shall quicken me. Preached on deck. 

Here is the complete fragment of a day just as it stands 
in pencil-marks upon the scrap. Reader, have you had 
such a day? 

April 7. — Rose early. My thoughts were with Jesus, 
my Saviour, my all. My first desire was to walk this day 
with Jesus, and he heard my groan ; he had compassion. 
I washed my body, and prayed that Jesus would cleanse my 
heart, so that body and spirit should be jDure for his dwell- 
ing. I clothed myself, and he put in my heart the prayer 
to be clothed with his righteousness, not as a garment, but 
to drink in his purity and holiness ; and as I ate my food I 
prayed for bread and water for my hungry, thirsty soul ; 
and as I walked abroad upon deck I prayed that I might 
walk in the spirit with God as Enoch, and that Jesus 
might walk with me and make ray heart burn with his 
words of love. Thus Jesus was with me. Oh that I 



3(j TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

might carry Jesus with me, and make everything I do 
fragrant with his Spirit ! My soul rests sweetly in Jesus. 

April 8. — Cold and rainy. Came in sight of Greece : the 
name awakens thrilling associations, but to see her moun- 
tains ! the brow of Taygetus white with snow, five thousand 
feet high, rising far above its fellows, her valleys, her 
plains, all themes of her poets, the land of poets and states- 
men and orators and philosophers and painters and sculp- 
tors ! Greece, once almost the solitary light that beamed 
upon our darkness; Greece, whose soil was pressed by the 
foot of the great Apostle to the Gentiles! At Mars' Hill, in 
Athens, in Corinth, the mart of luxury and pride, he hesi- 
tated not boldly to preach Jesus. Alas, how changed ! 
Where once primitive churches, in thje glow of youthful 
love, flourished, now churches called after Christ flourish ; 
but alas ! churches whose ministers are as vicious as they 
are ignorant, and whose superstitions are as burdensome as 
they are fatal. 

April 9. — Disappointed with myself. Oh that at the 
. close of each day I might say I have walked with Jesus ! 
My soul will never rest until Jesus is all and in all. 

April 14. — This day God gave me to see something of 
my heart's vileness. How deep-seated, how dreadful the 
disease of sin ! Pride ! Envy ! Malice ! And yet he did 
not leave me to despair. Oh, if there is any feeling beyond 
all others excruciating, it is to witness the occasional up- 
heaving and outbursting of these hidden fires, which are 
checked, but not extinguished. I was humbled. I was 
amazed that God should permit me to speak to him. And 
still I was comforted ; for before the day closed, I was en- 
abled to rejoice in God's pardoning love., 

April 15. — God lifted upon me the light of his counte- 
nance. Rose and sung with a glad heart, " Come, thou 
fount of every blessing." Felt well both in body and in 



OCEAN LIFE AND LETTERS. 37 

soul. Perhaps much of peace and joy of mind is often the 
result of the bodily condition. I have learned that there 
is a higher life than simple reliance on frames ; that is, 
simple confidence in Jesus in the hour of desertion as well 
as spiritual jorosperity. I felt the presence of my Saviour, 
and it was precious, j^CL'^sing all understanding. 
He writes again to his parents fi"om 

Smyrna, April 24. 
God has brought us thus far safely, and permitted us to 
set our feet upon missionary ground after a passage of forty- 
five days. What shall I render to him for all his benefits ? 
It has been a pleasant voyage, and I trust a very profitable 
one. I think I have been enabled to live nearer to my 
Saviour. There have been times when I felt that I was 
receiving an answer to prayers offered in my native land. 
Jesus has taken me by the hand and said to me, I will be 
thy father and mother and sister and brother; I will 
strengthen thee for thy work. It was but a short time 
after we cast anchor that we saw the little boat, with Mr. 
Riggs, one of the missionaries, making for our vessel. It 
was pleasant and refreshing to m^eet warm-hearted Chris- 
tian friends in this spiritual wilderness. I have much to 
say about Smyi*na, but must defer it till I reach Constanti- 
nople. To-day we take the steamer, and will reach there 
in a day and a half. 

Trebizond, Turkey, May, 1851. 
My Dear Parents : If you had seen what I have seen 
of the desolations which reign here, and felt what I have 
felt, never would you regret my leaving you. From the 
time that I first trod upon missionary soil, at every step I 
have taken I have rejoiced that I have been sent to these 
benighted lands ; and if Christians in America felt as I 
believe they should feel, hundi-eds and thousands would 

4 



38 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

make an offering of time and property and talents to give 
them the bread of life. 

I cannot express to you the surprise and joy I felt when, 
in Constantinople, I received your letter. We were widely 
separated, but your letter followed me so rapidly it seemed 
to bring us quite near. Our visits at Smyrna, at Constan- 
tinople and Trebizond have been very agreeable and profit- 
able. Our friends have given us hearty welcomes. They 
say they never have regretted their coming to this land of 
darkness and death. I think I never saw more interesting 
groups of little children. During the few days we have 
been here we have been busy in preparing for our journey 
over the mountains to Oroomiah, and to-day we expect to 
set out. We think the road is passable, the snow having 
melted. On the plains it is now quite warm. We shall 
be on the way about four weeks. I have a huge pair of 
saddle-bags made of thick, heavy leather, so as to be secure 
against rain. They are hung one on each side of the large 
wooden pack-saddles, which are used upon beasts of burden. 
In one I put a small mattress for my bed. In the other, 
two or three quilts, my India-rubber suit for the rain, and 
a few changes of raiment, etc. Mr. Stoddard has a travel- 
ing chest in which he carries plates, knives and forks, a 
little tea, sugar, salt, etc. Our friends have put up for us 
a boiled ham, a few dried tongues, some light crackers. 
We will buy a few things along the way — milk, butter, 
etc. — and we have a tent to shield us from the cold and 
rain and dews. We have all that we could wish to make 
our journey a pleasant one so far as it can be made so. 

Two Nestorian Christians came to be our guides over the 
mountains. I was glad to see the representatives of the 
people among whom I am to spend my life, and to stammer 
a few broken sentences in their language. I hope to make 
considerable progress in speaking the language by having 



OCEAN LIFE AND LETTERS. 41 

them with us. They are both Christians, and last night 
Mr. Stoddard had a little prayer-meeting with them. One 
of them seemed much affected when he prayed for his poor 
people, and thanked God that we were going to them. If 
we can only go with hearts burning with love for dying 
souls, our going will not be in vain. 

Trebizond, from which the previous letter is dated, is a 
large and ancient seaport, built on ground rising from the 
shores of the Black Sea. It is famous for the retreat to it 
of the ten thousand Greeks under Xenophon. Its houses 
stand tier above tier on the hillside, and look out upon the 
sail-studded but often angry sea. In the background are 
forest-clad mountains, in winter capped with snow. Erze- 
room, from which the next letter is written, lies inland 
among the mountains, at the head waters of the Euphrates 
and on the road toward Persia, but still in Turkey. 

Erzeroom, ilfay 30, 1851. 

God has brought our little company thus far. We have 
been kept in the hollow of his hand, whether on the stormy 
sea, or on the burning plain, or climbing rugged mountains. 

We are at the extreme eastern missionary station among 
the Armenians. On our way to the Nestorian field we have 
stopped at four stations, mingled with missionary brethren, 
heard and seen something of the wonderful movements of 
God's providences, something of the results of their labors 
in these dark lands. Some of them have toiled here for 
neai'ly thirty years. Their heads have grown white in the 
service of their Master. They came a band of defenceless 
men, looking only to the God of missions for pi'otection 
and success. They dropped the precious seed and watered 
it with tears ; and now they cherish the glad hope that 
when the Lord of harvest shall say. It is enough, rest from 
4* 



42 tEl^JSTESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

your labors, they shall come again, their arms filled with 
sheaves. 

The Armenians, numbering three millions, are scattered 
throughout the extent of the Turkish Empire. They bear 
the Christian name, but it is a name to live, while they are 
dead. Slaves of the grossest superstitions, their spiritual 
leaders as blind as they, and, if possible, more depraved, 
they have no true notions of God, of sin, of Christ, of the 
new birth or the way of salvation. They know that their 
crimes are flagrant, and the doom of the transgressor is 
terrible ; but ask them the ground of their hope, and it is in 
the prayers of some departed saint, in the strict observance 
of their fast-days, in confessions to their priests or in a 
pilgrimage to Jerusalem. They know not Jesus, their Sin- 
oflTering, their complete and all-sufiicient Saviour. 

Ask them what it is to be holy and the reply is retire 
from the world, go to a monastery, to the wilderness, or a 
lonely cave, put on sackcloth, live upon dry bread, torture 
your body, and thus become meet for the purity of heaven. 
And when called suddenly to a bed of sickness and death, 
and they feel that soon they will stand before a holy Judge, 
if they can but receive from the priest the bread dipped in 
the wine, their fears are relieved and eternal life secured. 
They are utter strangers to the truth that there is to be a 
change in the heart of man before he can in peace behold 
the face of God. 

Our tenderest sympathies must be awakened in behalf 
of a people upon whom the night hangs so heavily, whose 
errors are so gross and whose hopes of heaven are so false. 
But our hearts are gladdened by God's kind dealings with 
them. 

Six or eight churches, numbering one hundred, fifty, 
twenty and ten members, at central points hundreds of 
miles apart, have been gathered. True, they may be small 



OCEAN LIFE AND LETTERS. 43 

compared with many American churches, but when we 
remember that it was only a short time since when men 
came tremblingly in the dark hour of night, to inquire of 
the missionary what they must do to be saved, when they 
were pelted with stones and cruelly beaten, when, their 
property destroyed, they were cast into prison or driven 
from their homes into lonely exile, and thus counted the 
filth and ofiscouring of earth for simply confessing the 
name of Jesus, and that now, although they are secured by 
the government from personal violence, still they are in- 
sulted and reviled, treated as outcasts by their friends, and 
many ruined in their worldly business — when, in a word, 
we think how heavy is the cross he must bear who, in this 
land, would follow Jesus — we will not despise the few who, 
thus distressed but not in despair, stand up fearlessly and 
hold forth the word of life in the midst of a crooked and 
perverse people. 

It was my privilege to celebrate our Saviour's love with 
one of these little churches in an upper room in Constanti- 
nople. When I thought that in the midst of the darkness 
which brooded over the empire, here were a band of men 
whose affection for their Saviour had been tried in the fur- 
nace, some of whom for him had been beaten, imprisoned, 
exiled and had suffered the loss of all things, I felt that if 
American Christians could have witnessed the scene" their 
hearts would have overflowed with joy, and they would 
have said we are far more than repaid, even if the work 
should stop here. 

But by the grace of God it will not stop. It will triumph. 
Many of the converts here are earnest Christians; their 
hearts burn in sympathy for their dying brethren. Through 
their efforts, through the tours of devoted missionaries into 
the interior and through the press at Smyrna, the light is 
spreading far and wide. 



44 



TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 



Meu have been found rejoicing in Christ and preaching 
to all around them, who never saw the face of a missionary 
or an evangelical Christian. It was through the instrumen- 
tality of a Bible or tract, over which God watched as it left 
the press at Smyrna until it reached their hearts that they 
were enlightened. A sj)irit of earnest inquiry is abroad ; 
intelligence of new awakenings is every few weeks greeting 
the ears of God's servants, and the anxious cry, "Send us 
missionaries," is coming up from many parts of this field. 




ARMENIAN PATRIARCH. 



This work among the Armenians has gone forward most 



OCEAN LIFE AND LETTERS. 



4,': 



gloriously since the date of Mr. Rhea's letter, the attempt 
to bring them back to a pure Christianity having been 
crowned with a success that promises much greater progress 
in the future. 




-a^ _. 



ARMENIAN PRIEST. 



As might be expected, the resistance of their clergy is 
resolute, being sustained by every selfish motive. 

There are nine orders of clergy in the Armenian church, 
the six lowest of which are porters, readers, exorcists, can- 
dle-lighters, sub-deacons and deacons. These perform the 
subordinate parts in all the services and ceremonies of the 



46 A TENNESSEEAN IJ> PEESIA. 

church. A candidate for the higher orders must first pass 
through all these lower, though they may all be passed in 
one day. 

It matters little how ignorant a candidate for the priest- 
hood may be, provided he is able to read the church ser- 
vice ; but two things are absolutely essential to his becom- 
ing a priest — that he discard razors and marry a wife.* As 
celibacy is enjoined on all the orders above the priesthood, 
by marrying the priest cuts himself off from all hope of 
promotion. This fact and the narrow and belittling nature 
of the priestly duties tend to fill the ofiice with an unam- 
bitious, inferior class of men, whose ignorance and indolence 
are only equaled by their meanness and treachery. If the 
priest's wife dies, he is not permitted to marry again. He 
may, however, become a vartabed, and thus be thrown in 
the line of promotion. But it generally happens that a 
j^riest left a widower is more anxious to break over the rules 
of the church and marry again than to be promoted. 

The priest in our illustration is seen in his bell-shaped 
cap and long broadcloth tunic with loose sleeves, which 
constitute his every-day street dress. While oflSciating in 
the church, his tunic and cap are removed, and over his 
shoulders is thrown a kind of cloak, which is pinned in 
front, and on his head he wears a close-fitting skull-cap — a 
far less tasteful arrangement than his out-door dress. 

The priests are the most numerous of all the orders of 
ecclesiastics. They are found in large numbers in the cities, 
and every village has at least one, and more frequently two 
or three. Their support, often very meagre, is derived 
chiefly from fees which they receive for baptism, marriage, 
burial of the dead, prayers for the repose of souls, etc. 

The order of vartaheds is by some reckoned collateral in 
rank with the priesthood, inasmuch as candidates are or- 
* Says liev. M. P. Parmelee, of the Armenian Mission. 



OCEAN LIFE AND LETTERS. 



47 



dained to both, directly from the rank of deacon. By others 
it is made a separate order, superior to the priesthood. 
However this may be, it is certain the vartabeds are much 
more intelligent than priests, and their position is invested 
with far iigore dignity. The priests never preach ; instruct- 
ing the people forms no part of their duty. This work is 
specially committed to the vartabeds. 











ARMENIAN BISHOP. 



Every considerable city has its bishop, whose diocese in- 
cludes all the neighboring villages. He ordains all the 
clergy below himself, receiving a fee for each ordination, 



48 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

and if there be two applicants for the same place, not scru- 
pling to give it to the highest bidder. The bishop has an 
important part not only in the management of the financial 
affairs of the Church, but also in the assessment of taxes 
demanded by the Turkish government, taking c*re that a 
fair margin remains in his own hands. He celebrates mass 
on all important occasions, and, while doing so, wears a 
most costly mitre and magnificent silken robes, and bears 
in one hand a silver mace of office (seen in the picture), 
and in the other a silver cross. 

The patriarch is generally treated as merely a bishop 
with extraordinary jurisdiction and powers. For instance, 
the bishop of Constantinople is called patriarch, because, 
by virtue of his position, he is able, in great part, to con- 
trol the appointment of all the bishops of the Empire, and 
is also the recognized civil representative of the Armenian 
nation in Turkey at the Sublime Porte. He owes his 
position more to political than religious considerations. 
The crosses and stars seen on his person (see illustration 
on page 44), as on that of the bishop, are badges of 
office and decorations granted by different civil and eccle- 
siastical authorities. The Catholicos is the highest of the 
ecclesiastical orders, and is the " Pope " in the Armenian 
Church, having his seat at Echmiadzin, near the Turkish 
border, in Eussia, but having far less power than the Pope 
of Rome. He seems content with the honor of his position, 
together with its emoluments derived from the sale of bish- 
oprics, the monopoly of the traffic in holy oil used in all 
important ceremonies of the church, and the offerings of 
the devout. All bishops are ordained by the Catholicos, 
while he in turn is ordained by a council of bishops. 

The lack of vigor in the ecclesiastical domination of the 
Armenian Church, the people's profound though misdirected 
veneration for the Bible, and their native intelligence and 



OCEAN LIFE AND LETTERS. 49 

love of investigation, have contributed largely to the success 
which has already attended the missionary work among 
them. 

From Erzeroom Mr, Rhea writes again on June 30, to a 
friend : " We left Trebizond on the 20th of May, and reached 
the city of Erzeroom, distant one hundred and fifty miles, in 
eight days. They were very pleasant days to me, and I shall 
long remember our dwelling in tents. Our tent was large. 
We spread the ground with carpets and our mattresses 
upon them, and, although we had no chairs nor tables, we 
found it a pleasant mode of life. We rise by three, and 
are on our horses by half-past four in the morning. We 
generally ride from seven to nine hours. By that time the 
day becomes warm, aud we pitch our tent. We were one 
whole day in ascending the. lofty mountains of Armenia. 
In the plain the sun was burning hot ; but at the summit 
unmelted snow-banks were all around. During our journey 
our eyes were charmed with scenes of surpassing beauty and 
grandeur. 

"Four hundred miles of high mountains and burning 
plains are still before us. Thus far I can only sing of 
loving-kindness and tender mercy." 

And thus, like a pilgrim, with a song he journeyed on the 
four hundred miles, past sublime Ararat over heated plain 
and snow-clad mountain to Persia. 
5 D 



CHAPTER V. 

AEEIVAL, IN PEESIA. FIEST IMPEESSIOlSrS OF THE 
VILLAGES, PEOPLE AND CITY OP OROOMIAH. 

Oroomiah, July, 1851. 

OUR company reached Oroomiah, June 26, having been 
on our way from America nearly three months, and 
upon our land-journey about four weeks. 

The scenes were as varied as the journey itself was long 
and toilsome. Sometimes, for hour after hour, our road 
was a narrow path winding up steep and rugged moun- 
tains, until, from some lofty point, we looked out upon 
scenery unsurpassed in its grandeur and beauty; and some- 
times we traveled day after day upon the broad plain, 
spreading in one unbroken level far beyond the limit of 
our vision. At one time our tent was pitched far up the 
mountain side, surrounded by fields of unmelted snow ; and 
again it was upon the beautiful green by the murmuring 
brook, its banks blooming with flowers of every hue ; or 
we were driven by the heavy rain into a caravansary — inn 
and stable in one — and were lulled to sleep by the noise 
of our horses chewing their barley within a few feet of our 
beds. The thought that in just such a place the Lord of 
glory was born, and in such a manger cradled, might well 
reconcile us to all its inconveniences. At one time we 
were traveling upon the banks of the Euphrates — here a 
little stream, not yet worthy the name of the "great river;" 
and now in silence we were gazing upon Ararat, lifting 
serenely its snow-capped summit 17,000 feet in the air. 

50 



ARRIVAL IN PERSIA. 51 

For some days we traveled over plains almost desolate, 
seeing here and there a lonely shepherd leading his flock 
in green pastures or by the still waters; and again we 
would be upon the plain, richly cultivated, with its fields 
of ripening grain, its gardens and orchards and smiling 
villages, or meeting the caravan of hundreds of horses and 
camels laden with the merchandise of Persia. 

On the 25th of June we reached the village of Gavalan, 
thirty miles from Oroomiah. This is the home of Mar 
Yohannan, one of the prominent bishops. He visited 
America in 1843. His brother, Deacon Joseph, met us as 
we entered the village and urged us to come to his house. 
The father of the bishop, a venerable old man, came out to 
the gate leaning upon his staff, saluting us cordially with, 
" Peace be with you," " Peace be with you," " It is your 
house." We were brought into the best room. The walls 
inside were whitened, the hard earthen floor was spread with 
thick hair carpets. The natives use no chairs, bedsteads or 
tables, and consider it very impolite to bring in muddy or 
dusty shoes upon the carpets on which they sit. 

The roof of the native house has joists of heavy unhewn 
timbers. Upon them are laid small sticks of wood, then a 
coarse straw mat ; this is covered over with bunches of a 
thorny shrub which lasts for years without decaying, 
and last of all a layer of earth from one to two feet thick, 
made hard by tramping. By frequent repairing these roofs 
will last for many years. 

Soon a large wooden tray was brought in, its edges 
covered with the long, thin cakes of native bread. Two 
or three bowls of milk, honey, eggs and a few wooden 
spoons completed our table. 

We ate, sitting upon the floor, from the same dishes, 
without plates or cups, or knives and forks. 

This is the first Nestorian village we have seen. Our 



52 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

hearts were filled with gratitude, as, after a long and toil- 
some journey, we looked upon the remnants of a once flour- 
ishing but now sadly corrupt Church, among whom we are 
to live, and, if God is willing, make our graves. 

We started early for the city of Oroomiah. Within 
eight or ten miles of the city our missionary friends had 
come out and pitched a tent, where they gave us a cordial 
welcome. Having spent a few pleasant hours with them, 
we set our faces toward our final resting-place. 

Large numbers of Nestorians came out to welcome us. 
At one turn of the road we were met by a company of 
young men eager to grasp the hand of Mr. Stoddard, who 
had been their teacher, and now, after three years' absence, 
was returning to them. At one time we saw a man coming 
toward us with rapid step, dressed in large red trowsers, 
striped jacket and huge turban. I awaited his arrival with 
curiosity. He was Guergis, the mountain evangelist, once 
a bold and wicked ruffian, who climbs like a deer the cliffs 
of his native mountains, preaching to the dwellers in their 
fastnesses the unsearchable riches of Christ. We had not 
gone far before we met with the venerable bishops Mar 
Yohannan, Mar Joseph and Mar Elias, bidding us welcome 
to labor among their perishing people. 

As we approached the city the throng increased until 
they filled the road, on foot, on horseback, old and young 
and middle-aged, each anxious to grasp our hands. I 
looked upon this scene with a full heart, and at times with 
overflowing eyes. I asked within myself, Who are these? 
Are they the people who a few years ago sat in darkness, 
without God and without hope? And will American Chris- 
tians regret that they prayed and gave that such a scene 
might be witnessed in the heart of a Mohammedan country ?^ 
No, no ! Pray on. Christian brethren. Continue to give 
as Jesus gave for you, and we will labor on until songs of 



ARRIVAL IN PERSIA. 55 

joy go up from every village and hamlet on the plain and 
among the mountain Nestorians. 

A HOME IN PERSIA. 

Oroomiah, Persia, October 8, 1851. 

That I may give you a vivid picture of life in Persia, I 
will invite you in spirit to make me a visit; and what could 
be more delightful? I will imagine you just descending 
from the last mountain upon the plain of Oroomiah. 

There on your left is the beautiful lake, but a few miles 
from your road. How calm the bosom of its dark blue 
waters ! It has more than three hundred miles of shore, 
and is within twelve miles of the city. 

]^ow your road winds among fields of rice, cotton, wheat 
and barley; now by a beautiful vineyard, its vines bending 
with rich clusters; now among orchards of fruit trees laden 
with the peach, apricot, pear, plum and nectarine; and now 
on either side of you are extensive melon-grounds, embra- 
cing many acres ; and, finally, your road is leading through 
a beautiful avenue of trees planted along the banks of one 
of the water-courses. You see what a multitude of trees ! 
They almost hide the villages scattered so thickly over the 
plain; for you must know that upon this great plain, stretch- 
ing far beyond the limit of your eye, there are three hun- 
dred villages — two hundred Musselman and one hundred 
Nestorian. 

This is Persian taste, for the Persians are very fond of 
shade, and take great pains to secure a refreshing retreat from 
their burning sun. Not one of these beautiful trees is spon- 
taneous. All have been planted, and each is watered every 
few days. How forcible the description of the happy man ! 
" He shall be like a tree planted by the {channel) of waters, 
his leaf shall not wither," etc. Every other tree here is 
fruitless, and soon withers away. 



56 



TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 



You see that small river in the distance ? There is an- 
other, somewhat larger, upon the other side of the plain. 
From these two rivers many little channels carry the water 
to different parts of the plain and pour it upon the vine- 
yards, melon-grounds and fields of grain ; for no rain falls 
here for months. 

Those villages among the trees, at this distance, you think 
very pleasant, but find the walls of mud, the houses low 
with flat roofs, the streets narrow and often far from clean. 






<$i\^ 






>f i f 







\)K:£^ 



SEIB GATE OF OROOraAH. 



Here we come to the city of Oroomiah. Its walls, you 
see, are built of mud, baked and made very hard in the 
sun. That deep moat all around the wall, twenty feet 
wide and perhaps as many deep, is the defence. It can 
be filled with water very readily, and cannot easily be 
crossed. 

Your long journey is almost ended. There is one of the 



ARRIVAL IN PERSIA. 57 

gates, its folding-doors plated with heavy iron, through 
which we enter the city. 

Ride in. As you pass on you see no house-doors, nor 
windows opening upon the street; only a narrow alley with 
walls rising blank on each side. Here is the entrance to 
the mission-yard. Pass through the wall. I welcome you 
to the hospitalities of a home in Persia. 

You are now in a pleasant yard, square, and planted 
with plane-trees. The tall branches are full of singing- 
birds. The houses of the missionaries are built around this 
square yard. Ah ! I see you are thinking them rather 
shabby-looking houses ; but do not be too hasty. Our 
great Pattern, our blessed Lord, had not where to lay his 
head. These walls are of mud, but they are durable, very 
thick, and warm in winter and cool in summer. 

But will you not step into my own room a moment? I 
welcome you with heartfelt joy. You see the walls are 
white and pleasant-looking. The square recesses are in 
Persian style. They are filled with my books. My bed- 
stead is rough, but it is the best they can make. You ad- 
mire the mode in which the Persians cover their floors ; 
first the mat, and over it, in the centre of the room, the 
thick, strong carpet which will last a lifetime. Are not 
the colors neat and the figures arranged with much taste? 
These rugs around the carpet at the end and sides of the 
room, some three feet wide, are curious. " How are they 
made?" That groundwork of drab, of coarse wool, an inch 
in thickness, and those other colors in handsome figures, 
werd beaten into the texture. 

Are you ready to take a little walk ? Excuse me for 
suggesting that you veil your face closely, for no lady 
walks unveiled in Persia. Let us follow this narrow street 
to the homes of the poor people among whom I am to 
live. 



58 TENNESSEE AJSr IN PERSIA. 

This is the Nestorian quarter. Each yard is surrounded 
by a high wall. Sometimes two or three families occupy 
one yard. We will enter the first door. The room is large, 
but how comfortless ! The floor is mud, and nothing is 
spread upon it. Not a chair or table or bed is to be seen, 
and no windows, except two or three little holes in the 
walls. 

That round hole in the centre of the room, two feet in 
diameter and from one to two feet deep, is the fireplace. 
In this they burn the native fuel. Here the cooking is 
done, and around this they spend the winter. That large 
opening above serves for a chimney ; but until the fire is 
fully kindled, which frequently occupies more than an hour, 
the room is entirely filled with smoke. 

Let us go outside and up a ladder. You have good 
courage to climb to this upper room. It is spread with 
coarse carpets. Those bundles are beds, which in winter 
they spread here, in summer upon the roofs. These little 
windows make it much more airy. It is pleasant in the 
summer season. 

Wait a moment for the native meal. The wife (often- 
times little better than a slave) brings in a large wooden 
tray. Some have copper waiters. She places bread and 
one or two dishes. That dish, piled with rice which has 
been boiled in butter, is called "PtYatt." A little meat, 
some grapes and melons complete the course. Notice the 
husband sitting on the floor and eating with his fingers, 
the wife standing near, ready to obey his orders. Well, 
he has finished, and she is carrying the table away to 
the lower room, where she and the children can finish the 
meal. 

Were we to enter a Persian house, you would find much 
more comfort, as many of them are wealthy, while the Nes- 
torians are very poor. 



ARRIVAL IN PERSIA. 59 

Their spiritual condition is sad — it is deplorable. Were 
you to go often among them, your tenderest sympathies 
would be enlisted. 

In your last note you close with the following line : " I 
wish I could go to Persia, but I am not good enough." 
Permit me, my dear cousin, kindly to correct your error. 
It is a common opinion, and your remark implies it, that a 
missionary is bound to be better than any one else. But is 
it true? What does God require of a missionary? To love 
him with a perfect love, and to spend all the powers of 
body and mind to his glory. Does he require any less of 
you or of any other Christian, in whatever occupation he 
may engage? And is not the one who is doing his or her 
duty in the ordinary walks of life good enough to be a mis- 
sionary ? God requires of every Christian perfect love and 
entire submission to his will. He requires no more of a 
missionary. 

Mr. Rhea calls his letter-writing "a recreation from 
severer studies." All missionaries need untiring energy 
fully and suitably to acquire their new language, and Mr. 
Rhea was pre-eminently a student. The reader will bear 
in mind that these letters were only unstudied episodes from 
earnest work. 

Oboomiah, August 14, 1851. 
My Dear Parents : To me it is a welcome hour, and I 
trust ever will be, when I can turn aside from my labor 
and studies to talk with you. I am well, and happy in my 
new home. -Two weeks ago I went out with Mr. Cochran 
to spend two or three days in some of the near villages, I 
am at Seir, a little village six miles south-west of Oroomiah, 
with Mr. Stoddard. Three of the mission families live here, 
also the school for the young men is here. It is a pleasant 
little village, lying a mile and a half up the mountain-side, 



60 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

surrounded by shade trees, with pure air and a fine moun- 
tain spring. 

Mr. Stoddard kindly invited me to be a member of his 
family while I remained at Seir. Mrs. Stoddard is very 
much like a sister to me; she is very attentive to my ward- 
robe, looking after many little things which, without a 
lady's attention, would be neglected. I do not think she 
will let me use my needles and thread with which mother 
so abundantly supplied me. But I shall not have such 
kind friends long, as probably my field will be among the 
mountains, away from the pleasant intercourse of friends. 
But the Lord, I know, will be with me there. All the 
mission families here seem to be very much like a band of 
brothers and sisters, sympathizing with each other in all 
their joys and sorrows. 

I shall remain here until the hot months are past, and 
then go down to the city. The mission gave me a very 
good room, which I am preparing for my study. So far as 
earthly comforts are concerned, my wants are fully met. 
Missionaries here are not called to endure trials of that 
kind. Their houses, although of mud, are comfortable ; the 
walls inside are whitened, and, being very thick, are cool 
in summer and warm in winter, and, although the roofs 
sometimes leak badly during the rainy season and drive 
the families out, still they are, perhaps, better houses than 
many poor ministers have in America. I have wished 
sometimes you could drop in and sit down with us around 
the table loaded with the fruits of the country — apricots, 
plums, apples, pears, melons and nectarines. Perhaps you 
might at first think it extravagant, but large watermelons 
and muskmelons are bought for a cent a-piece. The poor- 
est people buy them. Fruit here is made a part of every 
meal ; you will see upon the table for breakfast, dinner and 
supper three or four plates of fruit. I think it is at least 



AEEIVAL IN PEESIA. 61 

half the living of the people at this season. I am now 
bending all my energies to get the language. It is a great 
work to become at home in a new language and speak it as 
the people do. God is helping me with it. By his gracious 
assistance I hope to overcome its difficulties, and in due 
time make known to this people the unsearchable riches of 
Christ. 

One thing above all others I need — a baptism of the 
Holy Spirit. I feel that I cannot go forth to this people 
without it. " He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost." 

Is it presumption to expect it ? Then pray with me and 
for mej that I may receive this indispensable qualification, 
for the minister and the missionary. 

It will be seen hereafter that he did " overcome the diffi- 
culties of the language." Our next chapter will be briefly 
devoted to the inquiry, Did he at this time receive " the 
baptism of the Holy Spirit," which he regarded as the 
"indispensable qualification for the minister and the mis- 
sionary f* 
6 



CHAPTER VI. 

RENEWED CONSECEATIOlSr. HE THAT IS HOLY LET 
HIM BE HOLY STILL. 

THE writer is not singular in the impression that, among 
the thousands of Christians whom he has known, he 
has never met with one who walked more closely with God 
than Mr. Rhea. A missionary who crossed the ocean in 
his company said, "I never knew one who appeared so 
perfectly to reflect the holy image of our dear Saviour. 
His many rare qualities live in sweet memory, and we shall 
never behold their like again. The world produces but one 
such man in a generation, and it is enough for us that we 
knew him." 

One in Eastern Turkey says, "I cannot express in words 
the high respect I had for him. He hungered and thirsted 
after righteousness. He longed to resemble Christ. He 
seemed fettered by the body." 

Another missionary once associated with him in Persia, 
but come home to die, testifies : " The recollection of his 
prayers alone must strengthen you for all time to come. I 
imbibed from them strength for the future. How I have 
loved to recall his prayers — often making parts my own ! 
When he has conducted our little meetings" (in Persia) 
" as his own soul seemed all aglow with the celestial fire, 
sometimes one spark has lodged in my heart for weeks, 
until a whole flame has shot forth, warming and enlighten- 
ing the very corners of my soul." 

Mr. Rhea had in the academy given himself to God to 

f.2 



RENEWED CONSECEATION. 63 

be a Christian, in college to be a minister, in the seminary 
to go to Persia, and 7iow in Persia to draw still nearer to 
God. He had been sick in August, and now, having re- 
covered, is on Mt. Seir, in that house from which Mr. Stod- 
dard in a few years will ascend to heaven. 

Mr. Rhea is alone, and has pen and paper. He opens 
his Bible and reads and prays. See, his countenance glows ! 
and Moses and Elias and Jesus seem truly to be here ! 
After writing we see him take what he has written and 
kneel down again and read his written covenant aloud. 
It is dated September 16, 1853. He rises, comes to the 
table as to an altar, lays his covenant upon that altar, and 
signs his name in full — Samuel Audley Rhea. 

He has given it to God, and God has accepted it and 
has taken it and given it to us. Let us take it reverently 
from God's hand and read and make every word our own. 
By God's grace, through the blessed Spirit, it will enable 
us to be more like Christ : 

AK ACT OF SELF-CONSECRATION. 

Our Father who art in heaven, in the name of thy dear 
Son, and in the strength of thy Holy Spirit, I come to 
thee. Deeply convinced that thou alone art my rightful 
Owner, that I have been bought with the precious blood 
of Jesus, I do solemnly surrender my entire being to thee ; 
my body, with every organ and member ; my soul, with 
every power to think, to feel, to will and act ; every mo- 
ment of my time ; my property, my influence, my plans, 
prospects, interests for all coming time and under all cir- 
cumstances, whether of joy or sorrow, adversity or pros- 
perity; to be disposed of just as may please thee; to live or 
die, to be sick or well, to be despised or honored, to be joy- 
ful or sorrowful ; my own will for ever to be sweetly and 
humbly lost in thine. 



64 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

Upon thine altar I lay my all, because I know it is 
sacrilege any longer to withhold from thee that which is 
sacredly thine. I do solemnly renounce the dominion of 
Satan, and of sin in all its forms, and take thee for my 
Father, Protector, Preserver ; the Lord Jesus for my Sa- 
viour, my sin-atoning Lamb, my Elder Brother, Shepherd 
and Friend; and the Holy Spirit for my Enlightener, 
Comforter and Sanctifier. 

With feelings of deep penitence and self-loathing I mourn 
over years of the grossest and most aggravated sin, in view 
of which I cannot but feel that I am the chief of the chief- 
est sinners; and were it not for that precious word, "Jesus 
Christ came into the world to save the chief of sinners," I 
should die in despair. In view of these aggravated sins I 
do look away from myself and all human aid, and without 
one plea, direct my eyes to that dear, bleeding, suffering, 
dying Lamb of God, whose blood was freely shed for the 
remission of the sins of the world, and, if so, then for mine. 
Here I rest my only hope of acceptance with God, when, 
defenceless, I shall stand before his judgment-seat. 

I am deeply convinced of my utter inability to begin or 
carry forward the life of God in my soul, and this work, 
which, O Lord, is thine, I do this day commit into the 
hands of thy Holy Spirit, and do resign my mind and heart 
to all his holy influences, to be enlightened, baptized, 
anointed, sealed and completely sanctified. by him. 

I rejoice this day that I have the hope that to me, the 
least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach 
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ ! To 
the work of the holy ministry I do now solemnly give nay- 
self, praying that I may be anointed by the Holy Spirit ; 
be a vessel sanctified and meet for the Master's use ; that I 
may make full proof of my ministry, endure hardness as a 
good soldier of Jesus Christ, be instant in season and out 



RENEWED CONSECEATION. 65 

of season, and, so long as I have a voice to speak, plead 
with dying men to become reconciled to thee, only to the 
praise of the glory of thy grace. 

I feel this to be the most solemn act of my life. I never 
can do a more solemn act. It is a personal transaction 
between my soul and God, and, though I tremble, I cannot 
shrink from it ; and, though looking at my own sufficiency 
all is hopeless, I believe that thou, O Father, Son and Holy 
Spirit, wilt keep that which I have committed into thine 
hands. 

And now, O Lord, seal to all eternity that which is and 
ever shall be only thine. 

In the presence of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 
I make this dedication of myself to all eternity. 

(Signed) Samuel Audley Rhea. 

September 16, 1851. 

Renewed upon the mountain near Memikan, June 4, 1857. 
6« E 



CHAPTER VII. 

FIRST MOUNTAIN TOUR. 

PERSIA is the Land of the Sun. There fire-worship 
began. Well does the writer remember mounting his 
horse very early one summer morning in 1850, and riding 
with Dr. Perkins and Mr. Coan to the summit of one of 
those eastern outlying ranges of the Koordish mountains to 
witness the sunrise over Persia, and to look westward at 
shadows in the gorges and glens as peak after peak in that 
sea of mountains caught the coming glory. Westward were 
cloud-capped, snow-Capped mountains. Eastward, for full 
one hundred miles, lay Persia, its jewel, the lake of Oroo- 
miah, visible in its full length of eighty miles, except where 
mountains near the centre seemed to cut it in two. On this 
side of the lake stretched groves and vineyards watered by 
silver streams, with orchards and fruitful fields. The lake 
itself reflected the glory above, while, in the east, colors 
bright and playful as dancing northern lights transfigured 
earth and sky into paradise and heaven. Beholding this 
glory, it was easy to know how heathen might linger in 
things created and seen, to worship fire and the sun. 

Into these western mountains, from that sunny land, Mr. 
Rhea was now making his first tour : 

Monday, Oct. 13, 1851. — We left Oroomiah about one 
o'clock for the mountains. Our road soon left the plain, 
and led over the high hills lying between Oroomiah and 
Tergawer. 

We reached the village of Hakkie, on the plain of Ter- 

66 



FIEST MOUNTAIN TOUR. 67 

gawer, about seven, having ridden more than an hour in 
the dark. We providentially had a servant with us who 
knew the road winding up the valley to Hakkie. This is 
the village of Deacon Guergis (or George), the mountain 
evangelist. It was dark, and we could only see the faint 
outline of the few low stone huts. The deacon gave us a 
cordial reception, and we were soon ushered into the great 
room. The floor was covered with hay. At one end a 
coarse carpet was spread for our reception. The cold wind 
blew through one or two unglazed little holes left for light, 
but they were soon stuflTed with hay. Our light beds, which 
Ave carried with us, were spread upon the rug, and there we 
slept. 

The chief man of the village, the priest and several vil- 
lagers came in and spent an hour. The universal topic was 
bitter complaint of government taxes. The evening closed 
with reading and exhortation by Dr. Wright and Mr. Coan. 

Tuesday, Oct. 14. — We made an early start from the hos- 
pitable house of the deacon. He followed us out from the 
village, and left us asking the blessing of God on our way. 
We traveled all day in the rain. After ascending a high 
mountain and going down its steep and long descent, we 
came upon the banks of the wild, leaping river Nazloo, 
which finally waters the plain of Oroomiah. Hour after 
hour we followed its course, the rugged mountains with 
their bold cliffs rising far above us on either side. Fre- 
quently our road for miles was a narrow path, sometimes 
upon the very edge of the precipice. Once we found we 
could not proceed. We were fifteen or twenty feet above 
the river, and had no alternative but to dismount, hold our 
horses by the bridle and let them slide down the steep, 
which they did without injury. Through this wild valley 
we traveled for some hours, seeing no human habitation 
except the castle of a once-famed Koordish chief. It was 



68 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

perched upon the top of a lofty rock, which rose perpendic- 
ularly from the side of the mountain. 

The loneliness of the road was relieved only by here and 
there a little company of mountain Nestorians going down 
to the plain. After hours in this wild gorge, we were 
cheered by seeing occasionally a little green patch of wheat, 
a few yards in circumference, upon the banks of the river, 
marking our approach to the dwellings of men. 

Suddenly, as we turned a corner, we saw, far up the 
mountains, little clusters of trees and little fields of wheat 
hanging upon the steep sides. 

We soon reached the village of Mar Beshoo. Swarms 
of little children came out upon the housetops. Around 
the door of the priest's house I counted no less than fifty. 
Mar Beshoo lies upon the side of the mountain, so steep 
that the roof of one house is literally the yard for another. 

The old priest, looking feeble, met us at the door. He 
had sent for Dr. Wright, having a few days before had a 
stroke of the palsy. We entered the family-room. Among 
the Nestorians several families live in one house. Some- 
times father and mother, sons and their wives and children 
are all together. So it was in this house. And what a 
busy family ! In one corner two were sitting sewing a gar- 
ment; others were standing, distaffs in hand, spinning; little 
girls were drawing out the wool over three or four spikes 
fastened to a piece of wood. 

Some coarse rugs were spread around the great tandoor, 
a hole two or three feet in diameter and three feet deep. 
In this, in the morning, they build a great fire, and after 
an hour or two the stones become thoroughly heated and 
the fire dies away. The room will continue warm till the 
next day. In the cold winter frequently a circle of moun- 
taineers will let their feet hang down inside. This tandoor 
is also their bake-oven, the dough being stuck in thin cakes 



FIEST MOUNTAIN TOUR. 69 

to the smooth side-stones. In a porch outside our beds were 
spread ; a fire was kindled on the floor, and we slept com- 
fortably. 

The church of Mar Beshoo is far-famed, taking its name 
from the holy saint whom their traditions make its builder. 
We went there in the evening. It is built, as nearly all 
the mountain churches are, of rough stones. The old priest 
had hobbled his way there, and, with two or three deacons, 
was going over the prayers in a sing-song tone, kissing the 
cross that was cut in stone, and bowing and kissing the floor 
of the church. Very few of the villagers come at all to the 
church, except at Christmas or Easter, when the sacrament 
is administered. After the sing-song was ended. Dr. Wright 
read the Lord's Prayer and addressed the few present. The 
walls were tapestried from top to bottom with hangings of 
calico and coarse silk, and scores of old lamps and bells 
were strung upon cords from one side to the other. These 
were offerings of those who wished the holy saint Mar Be- 
shoo to pray for them. 

In looking upon the small, low stone huts running up the 
mountain-side, one is astonished to learn that they hold 
more than fifteen hundred souls. Their lot is a bitter one. 
Upon the mountain-side they sow a few turnips and a few 
patches of wheat, and plant a few potatoes. Their priest, 
upon whom God has laid his hand, was overbearing and 
oppressive in his exactions, taking from them a tenth of 
all they raised. This, with heavy taxes, rendered their 
lives oftentimes lives of sorrow. Such is the character of 
many of their priests. Instead of breaking to them the 
bread of life, they leave their souls utterly to starve ; or, 
what is worse, stufi" them with the most ridiculous fables, 
while they are robbing their bodies of all that a grasping, 
covetous, unsatisfied spirit would exact. 

In the morning I followed a beaten path up the moun- 



70 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA 

tain-side. It led to a beautiful spring, and in the side of 
the towering cliff there was a door opening into a small 
cave. This cave is most holy, having a tradition of a saint. 
Wednesday, October 15, ,1851. — Our road to-day was 
through as wild a region as yesterday, and in some places, 
to one at all timid, more fearful. I was overjoyed after 
winding for several miles up a long valley and reaching 
the top of the mountain, to see spread out 

THE BEAUTIFUL PLAIN OF GAWAE. 

It stretches for forty miles in length, and at the widest 
point perhaps the same in breadth. It appears like a great 
basin, and on all sides around, bold mountains rise to an 
almost equal height, except the lofty Jeloo range, whose 
summits, capped with snow, tower far above their fellows. 

The villages can be distinctly marked for a great distance 
by great stacks of straw, piles of wheat and chaff, and huge 
mounds of native fuel* laid up for winter, which begins 
early and lingers long upon this plain. 

We soon descended to the plain, and after an hour's ride 
reached the village of Cherdenar. In approaching, almost 
the only signs of houses were the conical roofs rising above 
ground. The house proper is dug out below the surface 
and walled up a little above ground, and the roof is then 
built by laying timbers or crooked branches of trees cross- 
wise until they terminate in a point, where an opening is 
left for a chimney. These branches are covered with earth, 
forming the cone. 

Cherdenar is the village of Priest Dunkha, one of the 
oldest native helpers of the mission. We rode to his hut. 
He was not at home, but his daughter, Sarnum, one of 
Miss Fisk's best pupils, was overjoyed to see us. They had 
lately moved to the village, and were in so poor a house 
* Dried dung. 



FIKST MOUNTAIN TOUE. 71 

that they could not accommodate us. We went to the 
house of a neighbor. 

It is difficult to give an adequate idea of the poverty and 
wretched nature of this house. We entered through a low, 
dark passage, and soon found ourselves in a stable, buffa- 
loes and a donkey being the occupants. In a corner, a 
little elevated above the rest, was the platform, some ten 
feet square, where the family ate, slept and lived ; the tan- 
door (pit for fire) was in the centre. 

The family went to a neighbor's, and gave up this plat- 
form to us. Here our beds were spread out, and we laid 
down, indulging the fond hope that we might rest, although 
the buffaloes, cattle and horses were feeding and fighting all 
around us. I deposited myself in my bag, tightened the 
<lrawstring to my neck with secret delight, putting the fleas 
at defiance. But no ! I was in new quarters, and was des- 
tined that night to pass through scenes of conflict which 
beggar all description. 

We will omit the graphic and humorous description cha- 
racteristic of lands over which the venerable Dr. Goodell 
said that many of the plagues of Egypt had crawled, and 
simply chronicle the result : 

Sleep fled my eyes. The breath of buffaloes and horses 
came up like piping steam, and I thought myself in a fur- 
nace. Hour after hour I sat up looking at my w^tch, fairly 
conquered, and the sport of my companions. As morning 
approached, the moon shone brightly through a hole above. 
It was suggested that the snowy mountains of Jeloo would 
appear grandly under such a moon, and knowing that we 
could not fare worse, we emerged from the hot cellar into 
the cold open air. 

After enjoying the grand scenery of bright heavens and 
snowy mountains, we proposed to lie down upon one of the 
large haystacks ; but finding heavy dew, Mr. Goan brough|; 



72 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

out a rubber blanket. Seeing a fire at a distance, we went 
to it and found a Koord watching the grain, wearing away 
the long night by heaping the flashing straw upon the fire 
and puffing his pipe without intermission. While Mr. C. 
tried to sleep, I amused myself in learning the language of 
our Koordish friend. Soon the day dawned. I called him 
a good teacher, thanked him for the fire, and we moved 
toward our home. 

This eagerness to learn was well repaid in after years by 
his marked success in various languages, including the 
Koordish. 

On this tour he wrote his first missionary letter to his 
seminary friend, the writer, then at Mosul on the Tigris, 
and he kept up the correspondence thus commenced gene- 
rally monthly for eight years. That letter affords all the 
farther notice we have of this tour. It is dated twelve days 
later from the opposite, or western side of the plain, at Me- 
mikan, Gawar, his future home, October 27, 1851. Only 
extracts will be given : 

More than once since my arrival in Oroomiah I have 
attempted to write to you a line. To meet with you was 
by no means the least pleasure anticipated by me in com- 
ing hither. For two weeks, in company with Dr. Wright 
and Mr. Coan, I have been traveling among the mountain 
Nestorians. With this brief tour I have been charmed, 
and, I trust, profited. 

Expecting that my lot would be cast among this people, 
my first introduction was attended with especial interest. 
My field of labor was not definitely determined when I left 
America, although the committee thought it would be in 
the mountains. 

* * * My great anxiety is ijo^ to acquire the language 



FIEST MOUNTAIN TOUR. 73 

of this people. A field of labor, I doubt not, will be opened 
when I am ready to work. 

You can almost see him put foot in stirrup up in Gawar 
as he adds, " Our missionaries are in haste to be away. My 
object in writing is, I confess, rather selfish, as I am anx- 
ious to receive a letter from you." 

Very kind were the salutations, very cordial the sympa- 
thy of that first letter, and very precious in future the let- 
ters from that same village, now hallowed. 
7 



CHAPTER VIII. 

AMEEICANS AT HOME IN KOOEDISTAlSr. 

THE efforts of Dr. Grant, eighteen years earlier, to estab- 
lish a permanent missionary station among the moun- 
tain Nestorians were completely thwarted; first, by the 
dreadful massacre at Asheetha and Lisan, in 1843 ; and 
later, by the death of Dr. Grant and several others at Mo- 
sul. Christians in America might well look upon the moun- 
tain field as bloody and dangerous. Yet it can hardly 
be conceived in America with what thrilling interest 
those whose privilege it had been in 1850 to resume the 
labors of Laurie and Grant, and to plant a church at Mo- 
sul, received Mr. Rhea's announcement that the gap be- 
tween the missions of Turkey and Persia was being closed 
by a new advance into the mountains. The date is at 

Memikan, Gawar, December 11, 1851. 

I wrote you from Gawar some weeks ago. I again write 
to you from the same village and the same room, but under 
quite different circumstances. Then I was here on a tran- 
sient tour ; now I am permanently located for the winter. 

We fondly hope that in the favoring providence attend- 
ing the formation of the station we have token of the divine 
approval. 

In November we had two weeks as mild and genial as 
spring ; and it was not until the last blow was struck in 
fitting up our winter quarters, and we were ready to close 
our doors for the long, dreary winter, that the heavy snow- 
storm came, lasting three days and giving us two feet of 
74 



AMERICANS AT HOME IN KOORDISTAN. 75 

snow. But for those pleasant days our enterprise would 
have been entirely thwarted. 

Mr. Coan and myself have just returned from accom- 
panying Messrs. Stocking and Stoddard on their way to 
Oroomiah. They reached here with much difficulty, owing 
to the depth of the snow, having been strongly tempted 
several times to turn back. They spent but a single night 
with us. This we much regretted, but felt that it was run- 
ning a risk for them to delay long. Our brethren at Oroo- 
miah have voted to visit us monthly ; but we fear we have 
had our last visit from them this winter. 

This is a very small village, but there is no other on the 
plain so evangelical, and where we should feel so much 
among friends. God has been signally with us in his 
favoring providence; we long to see him present in the 
subduing and sanctifying influence of his Spirit. Oh, if 
we could see one poor thirsty soul longing for a new life in 
Christ, and if we could have the privilege of opening for 
that soul the wellspring of salvation, how it would gladden 
our lonely winter hours and make our hearts overflow with 
gratitude for the privilege of being here ! 

We are all happy in our new homes. We feel much 
nearer to you here, and we know that you will feel nearer 
to us. Let us not cease to bring near to a throne of grace 
our precious work. 

During the August previous he wrote to Mr. Coan, then 

making a preaching tour in the mountains, and expressed 

his longings : 

Seie, August 5, 1851. 

As I read your journal and letters, and thought of the 

opening prospects of that field, I longed to be with you. It 

is trying to have reached the field of labor, to witness the 

crying wants of the people, and yet to be unable to lend a 

helping hand in relieving them. Yet, for many reasons, it 



76 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

is well that it should be so. What a profitable season it 
furnishes for earnest prayer for a baptism of the Holy 
Spirit ! Peter and John, though they had preached many 
times before, never really preached with divine power until 
the day of Pentecost. I believe there is for every Christian 
minister, and every Christian whose heart burns to labor 
for the Master, a Pentecostal day — a day in which God 
will, in mercy to our infirmities, in an unusual manner 
sanctify these frail vessels and make them meet for his 
use — when he will supply us with those spiritual gifts upon 
which success in winning souls almost entirely depends. 

When we are called upon to plead with dying men to be 
reconciled to God, the work is so solemn, the consequences 
for weal or woe which hang upon every such attempt are 
so momentous, that God will not leave us alone, but has 
ordained that at such times, if we earnestly seek it, we shall 
be in an extraordinary manner under the divine influence. 
Mayjwe all thus be baptized from on high. Permit me to 
say that your good wife is very happy teaching. 

And now that good wife with her husband and Mr. Ehea 
were housed in Gawar, snowed in under the great crest of 
Jeloo. All honor to the Christian lady, for Christ's sake 
glad to exchange a pleasant city of America on the Hud- 
son, for the hut in the little village of six houses ! All honor 
to the first American lady to brave a winter in the moun- 
tain field! Long may she still live to bless Nestorians, Per- 
sians, Turks and Koords! 

We are now fortunate to be able, from a fragmentary 
journal, to give Mr. Rhea's own words : 

MeMIKAN, KoORDISTAJSr, \ 

Thursday, January 1, 1852. J 
The year just passed has been the most eventful one of 
my unprofitable life — the year in which I was ordained to 



AMERICANS AT HOME IN KOOEDISTAN. 77 

the holy ministry — the year in which I bade a final fare- 
well to my country, my kindred, my dear father and mother 
and brothers and sisters, crossed the stormy seas, looked 
upon the Old World with all its thrilling associations, and 
reached the field of my future labors. 

Having remained five months in Oroomiah, the mission 
then thought that the providence of God clearly pointed to 
the occupation of Gawar this winter. Accordingly, on the 
19th of November, Mr. Coan, Mrs. Coan and myself left 
Oroomiah, and reached Memikan Saturday, 22d. 

Our journey was most delightful, and for ten days here 
we had a bright sun and clear sky, and weather mild and 
genial. During that time we were busy fitting up two of 
the native mud cabins, making them as comfortable as 
possible for the long, severe winter before us. And it was 
not till the last blow was struck, and the last stick of wood 
brought upon the backs of Koords from a point in the 
neighboring mountains twenty miles distant, that the storm 
came, covering the ground with two feet of snow. 

Though we have been here shut in by the deep snow ; 
though we have been hampered for room, and for several 
hours in the day have lived in the smoke and scent of the 
native fuel ; though our little village numbers but six 
houses, and our only church has been a stable, and we have 
sung the praise of God and knelt before his throne and 
spoken his precious words among oxen and bufialoes, still 
it has been an unspeakable privilege to be here. For we 
have seen the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, the 
token of the near presence of our covenant-keeping God. 
He has gathered around us a little company of dying men, 
and although they have been oppressed with enormous taxes 
from the Turkish government, and have borne the heavier 
burden of scorn and denunciation from some of their own 
people for welcoming us to their village, still they sit at 
7« 



78 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

our feet, and without a murmuring word drink in the words 
of life. 

Just here we may fitly favor our readers with the first in- 
stallment of reminiscences that flow from the heart through 
the pen of Rev. Dr. Perkins, the veteran missionary of 
Persia, well known in Europe and America, as well as in 
Western Asia : 

"It was a hot June day in 1851 that I first met Mr. 
Rhea on the beautiful plain of Salmas, about sixty miles 
north of Oroomiah. The late Mr. Breath and myself had 
started on a rapid journey to Erzeroom. We halted at 
midday at a Persian village under the shade of some willow 
trees to rest our horses and refresh ourselves. We were in 
hourly expectation of meeting Mr. Stoddard on his return 
from America with his family and Mr. Rhea. While thus 
resting, our eyes detected, in a party of approaching travel- 
ers two or three miles distant, open umbrellas, and we im- 
mediately mounted and started at a rapid pace. My 
younger associate soon left me in the rear, as John did 
Peter ; and when far in advance he halted for an instant, 
wheeling his horse and crying, at the top of his voice, 'It is 
they ! It is they !' and then galloped onward. The sequel 
can be imagined better than the joy of that meeting can be 
described. After a few minutes' halt and mutual greeting, 
Mr. Breath and myself returned with the party from Ame- 
rica to our willow shade, and spent an hour with them in 
delightful conversation. They were to halt there for the 
coming night, while we had still full thirty miles to ride to 
complete our stages for the day. 

" Our impressions of Mr. Rhea in that first interview were 
altogether agreeable, and a pleasant earnest of our long sub- 
sequent intercourse," 

"And it is but fair to give also in this connection the young 
missionary's first impression of his future associates whom 



AMERICANS AT HOME IN KOORDISTAN. 79 

he met on the way, which he afterward playfully stated as 
being that of 'ancient men,' not unlike his conceptions of 
'staid Moravians.' 

"Mr. Breath and myself," says Dr. Perkins, "performed 
our journey of nine hundred miles, in going to Erzeroom and 
returning, in eleven days, using post-horses. On reaching 
Seir an hour after sunrise one morning, having ridden all 
the previous night, my ears were greeted by the well-known 
sound of my daughter's seraphine at family worship. But 
a new voice accompanied it, of singular sweetness, richness 
and power. I wondered whose voice it was, and on enter- 
ing the house found that it was Mr. Rhea's. He had al- 
ready, during the few previous days, won all hearts in our 
mission circle, and especially the hearts of the children." 

" Mr. Rhea's first Persian home was in the family of Mr. 
Stoddard, on Mount Seir. It was a precious boon to him 
to accompany to his field that seraphic man, and to be 
initiated by him into a course of preparation for his work. 
Mr. Rhea could not have had a better guide. 

"Our annual meeting for the review of our labors oc- 
curred that year a short time after the arrival of the party 
from America. To bring our youthful associate into the 
programme, we appointed him to preach the opening ser- 
mon. His discourse from the text, "Lengthen thy cords 
and strengthen thy stakes," Isaiah liv. 2, surprised and de- 
lighted us by the very marked ability evinced in its prepa- 
ration, and the unction and power with which it was deliv- 
ered. And while it most successfully struck the keynote 
of our annual meeting, and gave an unwonted tone to all 
the subsequent services, it also proved but the truthful 
earnest of his wonderful powers as a preacher both in Eng- 
lish and in Syriac, which have so often thrilled us in sub- 
sequent years. 

" His first study for three months was a humble room in 



80 TENNESSEEAN IN PEE8IA. 

our male seminary on Mount Seir. In that quiet retreat he 
gave himself ardently to the study of the modern Syriac, 
which he had successfully commenced under the instruction 
of Mr. Stoddard. Deacon Joseph, of Seir, was his first 
teacher. His wonderful power over the children appeared 
in their often stealing away to his room for entertainment, 
a very common one being his playing his sweet flute in 
moments of relaxation to their unspeakable delight. Nor 
did his influence over those delighted children end with en- 
tertainment. It was during those three months that he 
commenced with them a juvenile monthly concert, which 
was successfully continued for several years. 

" When the sickly season of summer had passed, Mr. 
Rhea fitted up the present library-room for his winter resi- 
dence on the mission premises in the city of Oroomiah, 
where he would see more of the people and enjoy increased 
opportunities for acquiring their language and laboring 
among them. But scarcely was his room comfortably pre- 
pared when the mission decided that it was important that 
he embrace a pi'ovidential opening for entering the Koord- 
ish mountains in company with Mr. and Mrs. Coan. That 
field had long been closed against us, and the favorable 
hour for entering it was not to be lost by delay. 

"About the middle of November the little colony started 
cheerfully on their arduous enterprise, as much more self- 
denying than our work at Oroomiah as the latter is more 
self-denying than a comfortable residence in the United 
States. 

" If possible to smooth their way, sufficiently rough at 
best, I preceded them some days with some doors and other 
fixtures, and did a little toward preparing a shelter for the 
threatening winter. They arrived on Saturday of the same 
week, and just before sunset the single window of four small 
panes was placed in the wall of the rough mud structure, 



\^ i^v^vil 



' 4 




'P . ^ ''i -- 



^A>- 



"X 




"1/ "1/ I 



AMEEICANS AT HOME IN KOORDISTAN. 83 

and the delighted party caught a glimpse of the last rays 
of the setting sun on the lofty, snow-capped mountains across 
the beautiful plain of Gawar as a bow of promise for their 
future quiet possession. 

"The miserable character of the first dwelling of the 
missionaries in Gawar cannot well be conceived. It was 
dark from want of windows, smoky from its proximity to 
other native houses, and filled with uncomfortable odors 
from adjacent stables. Their two small rooms were sepa- 
rated by their common entrance, through which the huge, 
lubberly buffaloes of their neighbors of the adjacent house 
were driven daily to water. 

"Soon after Mr. Rhea reached Oroomiah he was invited 
by a missionary associate to accompany him on the Sabbath 
to a Nestorian village for religious services. As he entered 
an uncleanly dwelling, shared by the family and various 
domestic animals, he remarked, ' I can hardly conceive of- 
human nature more degraded.' Yet, on settling in his rude 
hovel in a village of Koordistan, he was soon heard to say, 
' This is as much below the villages of Oroomiah as they 
are below villages in America.' 

" Born and reared in the lap of affluence, endowed with 
the nicest natural sensibilities and refined by culture, we 
might have supposed that life amid such circumstances 
would have been to him little short of martyrdom. But 
the fact was far otherwise. The first letter which he wrote 
to his missionary brothers and sisters, on my return to Oroo- 
miah, was cheerful and graphically playful, a fair earnest 
of' the happy, heroic spirit with which he ever afterward 
endured hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 

"The discomforts of their miserable dwelling were all 
greatly enhanced by their virtual imprisonment by deep 
snows during the long and dreary winter, eighteen feet fall- 
ing that season, which rendered egress very difficult most 



84 TENNESSEE AN IN PEESIA. 

of the time, and often engulfed the building till the snow 
was removed by shovels. But none of these things moved 
him, for he remembered who it was who, though rich, for 
our sakes became poor, that we, through his poverty, might 
be rich. The presence of Mrs. Coan as a brave and patient 
sharer of such self-denials also tended strongly to banish 
misgiving. 

" The missionaries soon opened a school for the children 
of the village. Mrs. Coan had little girls and women 
several hours a day in her room, which served the various 
purposes of dining-room, kitchen, dormitory and school- 
room. They also had religious services daily with the 
villagers on the central platform of the largest stable in 
the place, the breath of the numerous buffaloes keeping the 
air at a high temperature, even in that almost Greenland 
climate. 

"Added to Mr. Rhea's deep and ever-growing interest in 
his missionary work, his close application as a student 
yielded him ample occupation during his first winter in 
Koordistan. He usually 'prevented' the dawn by critical 
study of the Hebrew Bible, collated with the ancient Syriac. 
He also reviewed a considerable part of his college classics 
during that time, to acquire the greater general facility for 
mastering Oriental languages. He soon comprehended and 
well appreciated the advantage of his position and circum- 
stances (shut up though he was in the wilds of Koordistan) 
among these ancient Christians, whose language is a modern 
dialect of the ancient Syriac (the latter being spoken by the 
Saviour while on earth), and who are eminently scriptural 
in their habits, thoughts and feelings. His teacher, Deacon 
Tamo, who had learned a little English, could even sit in 
judgment on the interesting notes of the able commentator, 
Mr. Barnes, where he suggests that there must have been 
cows in Job's country and time, because cheese is mentioned 



AMERICAN'S AT HOME IN KOOEDISTAN. 85 

by him ; the artless, yet discerning Nestorian claiming that 
this is a palpable non sequitur, inasmuch as cheese in the 
East is usually made of the milk of shee}) more than of 
cows. 

"It was to hard study that first winter that Mr. Ehea was 
greatly indebted for the foundation of his peerless gifts as 
a preacher in the modei'n Syriac, and for his general suc- 
cess as an Oriental scholar and missionary. 

"Mr. Rhea's removal to Koordistan diminished not a whit 
his interest in his young friends in the mission at Oroomiah, 
nor theirs in him. Henceforth that interest was cultivated 
by letters, which were anticipated by our children with 
greater delight than any other earthly boon. 

"On a visit subsequently made to Oroomiah he assisted 
the two eldest children to commence a juvenile monthly 
periodical, called The Persian Star, which was conducted by 
them and their successors for several years with very com- 
mendable zeal and success. 

"As the senior member of our mission, I felt special in- 
terest in the success of the little colony which I had assisted 
to inaugurate in the wilds of Koordistan ; and my desire to 
visit it during the winter was wellnigh uncontrollable. Ac- 
cordingly, in February — our winter in Oroomiah being un- 
usually mild, and the ground there still bare — I started for 
that purpose. On the second morning I mounted my strong 
horse at 2 A. M., in the bright moonlight, with an exultant 
assurance, the road being still bare and dry, that I should 
greet the missionary circle before evening. But day had 
scarcely dawned, as I was winding my way up the great 
mountain range, when I suddenly came upon snow, which 
increased in depth so rapidly that the powerful horse in 
which I had unduly 'trusted' was unable to proceed another 
step. With a saddened heart I committed the little store 
of comforts which I had carried with me, and had hoped to 



86 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

deliver in person, to a hardy mountain Nestorian to convey 
on foot, and reluctantly headed my horse homeward. 

"I did not venture to renew the attempt to visit Gawar 
till the last week in April, and then found it sufficiently 
difficult and hazardous both to the horse and his rider from 
deep snows and swollen streams, though I was by no means 
averse to a measure of adventure. As I approached the 
missionary residence, my horse floundering in the still deep 
snow, and myself dripping from an involuntary bath, I was 
recognized by Messrs. Coan and Khea, who had for the first 
time that season taken their horses from their stable and 
made their way to a neighboring village, from which they 
were now returning. I need not say that waving hats soon 
testified to the joy of that recognition. 

"My visit of a few days at the humble mountain-station 
was one of the most delightful that I ever enjoyed ; while it 
was a standing marvel to me how the missionaries, and es- 
pecially Mrs. Coan, had so cheerfully endured their self- 
denials and discomforts during the long winter." 



CHAPTER IX. 

riEST WINTER IN GAWAE. 

Memikan, Jan. 1, 1852. 

IF you were approaching our little village this morning, you 
would almost be puzzled to discover our premises, noth- 
ing appearing but a portion of our front wall and the top 
of the chimneys. As a sailor would say, we had " a stiff 
breeze" last night, sweeping and piling the snow all around 
us. The sky is now clear, and we look for cold weather. 
The villagers are all out this morning, opening roads from 
their doors. We have taken our turns in pitching snow 
from the roofs and around the walls. In Tennessee the 
snow is hardly ever more than six inches deep ; and ex- 
pressing surprise this morning at the depth here, they said, 
There has been no snow yet. One held up his long pole 
into the air to show how deep it sometimes falls. Another 
said it was sometimes level with the tops of the stacks of 
fuel. This clear, bright morning you would enjoy the mag- 
nificent scenery around us. 

Few have come to us from other parts of the plain. Dea- 
con Tamo has visited one of the neighboring villages every 
Sabbath except one, and has met with uniformly kind treat- 
ment. He is of great service ; and if the seminary does 
not suffer, we shall rejoice that our brethren gave him to us. 

The late oppression will rather further than retard our 
work. The people know why they suffer; they feel its 
injustice; they are every day becoming more and more 
enlightened, and convinced theoretically of the truth of 

87 



88 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

evangelical doctrine. Confined pretty much to their vil- 
lage, few passing, free from diverting cares of the busy sea- 
son, they sit every night and three times every Sabbath 
under the truth. We long to see their slumbering con- 
sciences aroused. 

Rose early this morning. Endeavored to get a lively 
sense of the tender mercies of God toward me the past year, 
and of my very unprofitable life. For the future I am not 
anxious. I have placed everything at the disposal of my 
Father, and I know that all will be well. Oh I long to 
walk with him all my remaining days in humility, in faith 
and entire self-renunciation. 

Taught David and Khamis two hours. Talked with 
Deacon Tamo — he in English and I in Syriac. My pro- 
gress in the language has seemed slow, but still I hope to 
acquire it. For two days and nights it has snowed inces- 
santly to a depth of two and one-third feet. Spent two or 
three hours in pitching it from the roofs. 

January 2, Friday. — This morning the mercury stood 
sixteen degrees below zero. My room has been cold and 
chilly all day. Felt very dull and stupid from my ex- 
posure and labor yesterday, having worked too vigor- 
ously. Have hardly been able to lift a clear thought to 
God, and have not been as cheerful as one who is profess- 
edly traveling to glory ought to be. 

January 3, Saturday. — Felt unwell. Spent an hour or 
two in stopping the large cracks around my door and win- 
dow. From morning till night ray room is employed as a 
school-room for our native helpers, so that I find little time 
for devotion, except early in the morning and late at night. 
I must learn to walk with God in the tumult of life as well 
as its quiet hours. 

Ath, Sabbath.— To-day we three — a little band — remem- 



FIRST WINTER IN GAWAR. 89 

bered the dying love of our departed yet our ever-present 
Saviour. I did not meet my dear Lord as I had hoped 
and prayed, and I was in deep distress. With much de- 
sire and longing I had looked forward to this holy commu- 
nion season ; but when the hour came my heart seemed 
cold, a tide of worldly thoughts rushed upon me, and I 
could not get near the cross. I was much depressed. I 
tried to pray time after time, but it seemed as if a high wall 
were between me and the mercy-seat. The tempter came 
and pressed me sorely with the thought that I had prayed 
much preparatory to this feast, and that my prayers were 
not regarded. And why pray more? He would fain per- 
suade me that it was the fault of God and not of my heart, 
I tried to meet this temptation and to feel humbled in view 
of my great sin and my great loss. 

bth, Monday. — This day we had appointed a day of prayer 
and fasting for the presence of the Holy Spirit. The day 
was sacredly consecrated to reading God's word, meditation 
and prayer. I found near access to a throne of grace, and 
the hour of prayer and praise was sweet. 

6^^, Tuesday. — To-day wrote to Dr. Anderson ; my first 
mission letter. 

1th, Wednesday. — Rose early. Nearly all day preparing 
for the post. If my letters are only written under the in- 
fluence of the Spirit, it will not be lost time. " The chariot 
wheels draw heavily" to-day, because I did not seek God's 
blessing on each department of my day's labors. I long to 
speak the language of the Nestorians. Every hour given 
to anything else is given almost with regret. 

%tJi, Thursday. — Khamis reports his little school increas- 
ing. He began with two, and has fourteen. Two to-day 
began the gospels who five weeks ago did not know their 
alphabet. Two girls came to read, making five of the females 
of the village. Thus the Lord smiles upon our little work. 



90 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

dth, Friday. — Deacon Guergis left to-day. It snowed, 
and we were sorry to have him go alone. He is a tender- 
hearted Christian. Would that there were more of his 
simple-hearted piety ! The ground is covered with three or 
four feet of snow — the roads hardly opened. When coming, 
he and his companions were overtaken in a storm upon the 
mountains ; it became very dark ; they could not see their 
road, and thought they should be lost. They knelt down 
in the deep snow and prayed. When they rose the sun 
came out, and their road was plain before them. 

10th, Saturday. — To-day our long-expected messenger 
from Mosul arrived, bringing us letters from Brother 
Marsh. 

11th, Sabbath. — A full attendance. They listen with 
much earnestness. Deacon Tamo went to Kardian. Many 
quarreled with him, charging that he was English, and 
wished to abolish their customs, fasts, prayers and sacra- 
ments. He spoke mildly, reasoned calmly and soberly un- 
til the principal persons present said his words were true. 
Eshoo came from Keat; says they threaten to kill our 
helpers if they go there. Odeeshoo and Khoshaba came 
from Kerpel, a Koordish village. They say they spoke 
much with the Koords of Christ, and they listened atten- 
tively. There is a very friendly relation existing between 
many Koordish and Nestorian villagers ; many are warm 
personal friends of each other, and the Nestorians are not 
afraid to preach Christ among them. It would not be 
strange if the Koords should be the first Mohammedans 
moved upon. Oh what momentous interests are involved 
in the reawakening and reviving of this remnant of a once 
powerful Christian Church ! 

January 12, Monday. — About noon we were startled 
by a message that two of our brethren from Oroomiah 
were in a neighboring village, and wished us to send 



FIEST WINTER IN GAWAR. 91 

them horses, theirs having given out. We mounted our 
horses and at the village of Mar Slewa found Mr. Breath. 
He had left his horse at Dizza, and walked through the 
deep snow ten miles. Dr. Wright came with him to the 
mountain pass, but seeing the depth of snow and fearing 
detention in Gawar, as his family required his presence, 
thought best to return. Mr. Breath seemed much ex- 
hausted. Brother C. and I gave hira and his servant our 
horses, and came ou foot. We were much refreshed by the 
presence of our good brother. After the last fall of snow 
to a depth of three feet, we gave up all hope of seeing any 
of our Oroomiah brethren. 

ISth, Tuesday. — Brother Coan and I accompanied Mr. 
Breath on his return home some three hours. We were 
sorry that he could spend but a night with us ; but when 
we remembered that by delay he might be shut in for 
weeks, we could not detain him. 

January 18, Sabbath. — The Lord is good. I felt an 
earnest longing after holiness, perfect love, poverty of 
spirit, utter self-renunciation. But oh how unstable in 
all my ways ! Felt that I must pray especially for fixed- 
ness of purpose, singleness of aim, whole-souled consecrated- 
ness to the work of personal holy-living — holy-living by 
the moment, reaching to the minutest secular employment — 
to every word and every thought. I can aim at nothing 
short of this. 

Began to read our Lord's sermon on the mount : " Blessed 
are the poor in spirit." Here I stopped and found such a 
depth of meaning, such heavenly wisdom, that I dwelt upon 
it all the day. Poverty of spirit. What a jewel ! How 
precious in God's sight ! How hard to gain ! Blessed life 
here, and yonder inheriting the kingdom. But it is one 
thing to admire the brilliancy and richness of the gem, and 
another to purchase it. Without price, and yet of untold 



92 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

worth and beauty ! O my Saviour, I no longer resolve — 
I do now seek it, struggling to reach it. 

My room was filled to-day with near fifty of the villagers, 
listening earnestly, and yet apparently without any deep 
impression. One cannot look upon them without intense 
longings for the melting Spirit of God. 

19th, Monday. — Read a Psalm in Hebrew ; also Kitto's 
Introduction to Solomon's Song. Can a more exquisite 
picture be drawn of the life of the believer after he is once 
married to the dear Redeemer in an everlasting covenant? 
They twain shall be one. Oh what a life ! One with Jesus 
in love, in joy, in meekness, humility, poverty of spirit, in 
tender sympathy for every fallen man and woman ! One 
with Jesus in purity and ceaseless self-renunciation, and 
one with him in his glorious inheritance ! Joint heir with 
Christ! Blessed Redeemer, perfect now this heavenly 
union, that I may sing, My Beloved is mine, and I am 
his. 

Deacon Tamo returned from Senawa. He no sooner en- 
tered the village on Saturday than a poor woman, with a 
full, overflowing heart, made him welcome as a servant of 
the Lord Jesus. On the Sabbath she went out and brought 
in all her neighbors, fifty or sixty, nearly the whole village, 
to hear the word of life. 

20th, Tuesday. — Enjoyed sweet peace to-day. My mind 
much on heavenly things. Never felt such longings after 
communion with God. Read some passages from the life 
of the holy Leighton. 

21st, Wednesday. — Was enabled to cherish a sense of 
God's presence in a feeble manner. Oh to live continually 
in the presence of the Great King, and to hold uninter- 
rupted communion with him ! Before evening, by my poor 
success in some writing I had undertaken, I was taught to 
seek the Divine blessing upon everything. 



FIEST WINTER IN GAWAR. 93 

January 21, 1852, to the author at Mosul: 

The formation of your little church had a special inter- 
est. May it be watered with the dews of heaven ! May it 
be the leaven which is silently but powerfully to permeate 
that whole mass of deluded, fallen mind ! 

Just at this time there seems to be in several villages a 
bitter hatred against us and our work. Mar Shimon (the 
Nestorian patriarch) has succeeded in infusing his own 
hostile spirit for a time into many hearts, and the uni- 
versal cry is, that we are aiming to make away with their 
time-honored church and the loved customs of their 
fathers. 

To a playful allusion to his choice of single life, he replies : 
I should be sorry indeed, my dear brother, if you should 
think me so ungenerous as not to bid you God-speed. Be- 
cause I might prefer to spend the first years of my mission- 
ary life, and probably all of them, unmarried, is certainly 
no reason why I should not heartily approve of a brother's 
adopting any mode of life which will make him a stronger 
and happier armor-bearef in the army of our Immanuel. 
I will most gladly pray for the prosperous issue of your 
journey home. 

22c?. — This day twenty -five years ago I was born into this 
world. Upon many of my past years I look back with 
shuddering at my aggravated transgression. I look back 
upon all with deep regret and dissatisfaction. A poor, 
sickly life I have lived for Christ — the weakest of babes in 
Christ. I wonder that I am now living. I wonder that in 
the midst of my sins I did not go down quick to the pit. 
With deepest humility I bow before him and adore the 
riches of his grace. 

Oh that this year might be the holiest of my pilgrim- 
age! a year of walking upon the borders of the heavenly 
world ! Resolved to live, by the grace of God, as holy, 



94 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

prayerful, watchful, exemplary as if I had been assured 
that this would be my last year. 

23c?, Friday. — Rose at six. Six inches of snow fell dur- 
ing the night. It still snows. Read Pilgrim's Progress in 
Syriac. Words of God and seasons of prayer refreshing. 
Found mingling God's Word constantly with prayer and 
turning it into petitions profitable. 

Several young men have joined our school, and even 
after it closes they sit in the dekana and read for hours. 

2Uh, Saturday. — I look back upon this week with min- 
gled feelings of joy and sorrow — joy, because I have felt 
deeper longings than ever before after holiness — unblem- 
ished holiness, evidence to me that God's Spirit is with me, 
preparing me for a reception of that blessing ; sorrow, be- 
cause this week's experience shows me how desperate my 
case is without God's help. One day I felt strong in God ; 
another, all my resolutions gave way. O Father, thou hast 
not left me altogether desolate ; let me not be fretful be- 
cause I have not received those spiritual blessings which I 
have sought. Thou knowest, O Father, when I am ready 
to receive these pearls — when I will not trample them under 
foot. 

2bth, Sabbath.— Qkj clear, air mild. 40°-50°. Met this 
morning for Sabbath-school. Mr. Coan repeated the Lord's 
Prayer, and it was a touching scene to see all, from the old 
man of seventy to the lad of six or eight, repeating it after 
him until each one was able to say it alone. Every Sab- 
bath we are cheered by the apparent earnestness with which 
they listen to the words of life. 

January 26, Monday. — Rose early. Read a Psalm in 
Hebrew. Wrote a letter in Syriac to Joseph, my first 
teacher." 

To Dr. Perkins, January 26, 1852 : 

I remember with delight the pleasant evenings spent in 



FIEST WINTER IN GAWAE. 95 

your parlor, when we sung the sweet songs of Zion. We 
often sing, "And let this feeble body fail," and " How firm a 
foundation." They are favorite pieces with Mrs. Coan, as 
with us all. These dull walls have no sympathy with the 
melodies of sound. They will not even give an echo, and 
our flutes, feeling the slight, have become of the same mind. 

We feel a longing to break over the walls of our con- 
finement and sow broadcast the seeds of eternal life. And 
yet we know that the warmest sympathies of these poor 
hearts of ours are an iceberg to the wai'm beatings of that 
heart whose unknown depth of love and sympathy eternity 
only will reveal. We rejoice that Deacon Tamo goes as 
often as he can to the neighboring villages. He always 
leaves us begging our prayers, and when he comes back 
his face beams with smiles. 

May I not say, if the Lord will, we shall see your face 
in February ? We think you can reach Dizza, and, once 
there, we can help you over the plain should another fall 
of snow render it difficult. Our brethren have made us 
such short visits that we ply them as soon as they come, 
and cry, " Give, give !" till they leave us. 

A GATHERING STORM. 

The beloved Physician records the words of the Lord 
Jesus : " I send you forth as lambs among wolves." It is 
time for us to take some note of the powers on the dark 
mountains in and around Gawar that might be directed by 
the prince of this world against the little flock in the little 
village of six houses. This hamlet is hid in the wide do- 
minions of the Sultan of Constantinople. The eye of sul- 
tan or vizier, or great pasha, never rested upon it. In a 
very feeble and precarious manner the Sultan makes show 
to govern Koordistan by a great dignitary of the Empire, 
a pasha stationed at Van, Van is a considerable city by 



96 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

Lake Van, in Eastern Turkey. As the mountain roads 
wind, it is one hundred and fifty miles north by west of 
Gawar, and about equally distant from Russia and Persia. 
Under this pasha, nearer at hand in the mountains, at 
Bashkollah, sixty miles from Gawar, an inferior pasha 
holds an important fortress in the midst of almost indepen- 
dent Koordish chiefs. These in their mountain holds alter- 
nately treat with and receive salary from, or openly defy, 
the representative of the distant Sultan. Under this pasha 
at Bashkollah there are modirs, or governors — among them 
one at Dizza on the Gawar plain. 

Over against these Moslem powers we may place Chris- 
tian dignitaries. In Gawar the bishop of the Nestorians 
would in some degree apj^roach in dignity the Turkish mo- 
dir. Outside of Gawar the Patriarch of all the Nestorians, 
always called Mar Shimon, or Saint Simon, would hold 
rank with the pasha of Bashkollah. One step higher in 
influence, the consuls of England, France or Russia claim 
equal consideration with the pashas of Van, and consul- 
generals with the greatest pashas of the Empire, while at 
Constantinople the ambassadors of the great Christian pow- 
ers approach the Sultan on such high terms as often to bend 
the councils and plans of the Empire. 

Here, then, were three Americans, housed like their 
Master in a stable, unable to be hid in a little unwalled 
village of six houses on the Persian border, for they were 
ambassadors of the Great King. For human protection 
they must look to Koordish chiefs, Turkish governors and 
pashas, and the shadow of far-off America — that Ame- 
rican influence acting by courtesy through English consuls 
more than a hundred miles away in Mosul, Turkey, or still 
farther off at Tabreez in Persia ; or through the American 
minister at distant Constantinople. 

Who shall protect that little band ? Less than a year 



FIRST WINTER IN GAWAR. 97 

before had seen the Eev. Dr. Bacon of New Haven, and 
his son, now the Rev. Leonard W. Bacon, of Brooklyn, 
and the writer, robbed and detained, in the power of fierce 
Koords, to the imminent peril of their lives, at a point a 
few miles south of Gawar. All previous attempts to locate 
a mission station among the mountain Nestorians had failed. 
Had God's time now come ? 

Would the Nestorian bishop in Gawar prove a friend to 
plead for them with the modir? Would the pati'iarcli 
speak a kind word in the ear of the pasha of Bashkollah '! 
Would both bishop and patriarch sympathize with them, or 
stir up Nestorians, Koords and Turks alike to hostility ? 

The second month of their stay was not complete before 
the villagers were forbidden by the Nestorian bishop to send 
their children to the school, and a tax of twenty dollars 
was imposed, simply because they had received the ambas- 
sadors of the Lord Jesus Christ. We proceed with Mr. 
Rhea's journal : 

January 27. — The bishop has made a great wedding. On 
Saturday several of the villagers asked our advice ; know- 
ing the scenes of wickedness at such places, they hesitated. 
Deacon Tamo thought of going. We told them to go. 
Our Saviour went, not to revel, but to turn water into wine. 
They went, and had fine opportunities for preaching the 
gospel to Nestorians, Koords, Armenians and some Turks 
who had gathered from all parts of the plain. They spoke 
the truth fearlessly. Many reviled, but they blessed. 

Tamo is everywhere respected for his learning and his 
piety. They all said to him, " Come to us. Leave the Eng- 
lish. Be our priest. We will do you honor, for we love 
you much." He said, " I cannot leave those men, for they 
preach the truth." They replied, " Then do not preach to 
us." Tamo said, "I must preach ; I will come to your vil- 
lages and houses ;" then appealing to the chief men : " Will 
9 G 



98 TENNESSEE AN IN PEESIA. 

you drive me away?" "No, no; come to our houses and 
we will welcome you," 

At every little gathering the one topic at the houses of 
chiefs or the bishop was our presence here this winter. On 
Monday, a vile man, who had said, "I love wickedness, and 
will practice it," when reproved by Tamo, rose up and said, 
" Let us drive these men from our country." He had been 
around endeavoring to stir up opposition. A few called 
them fools, but the proposition met with general favor. 
Baso, the agitator, carried the day. They resolved to send 
a delegation to the modir, petitioning that he would ex- 
pel us. Poor deluded men ! May God have mercy upon 
them I ^ 

29th, Thursday. — Two soldiers came from the modir; 
would not tell why, but wished to see us. I called them in. 
They said, "We come to present you the compliments of 
the modir, and to do your service." We had no service, 
and supposed them spies. They said they were ordered to 
remain here one or two months. 

We think the modir has listened to complaint against 
us, and sent the petition for our expulsion to his pasha. 
The villagers are very anxious to know why the two Turks 
have come. Met to-night for prayer in Deacon Tamo's 
house, as the Turks were in the dekana. 

SOth, Friday. — One of the soldiers said to-day that the 
modir had sent a messenger to his pasha at Van, saying 
that the people of Gawar, to a man, wish the English 
driven from the country. We learn, too; that the Nes- 
torian patriarch wrote to his bishop to take every measure 
to have us driven out. 

Slst, Saturday. — Deacon Tamo feels rather downcast. He 
stands alone. He knows that all his people are heaping 
upon him reproach and scorn for welcoming us to his vil- 
lage. He is a brave spirit, and would go to the stake be- 



FIRST WINTER IN GAWAR. 99 

fore he would flinch from the stand he has taken. We had 
a large meeting to-night in the dekana. The Turks were 
present. They will see that we are very quiet, and love the 
people and that they love us. They listened respectfully ; 
one understood much that was said, and told his companion. 

February 1, Sabbath. — Without, a bright day. A few 
faint beams from the Sun of Righteousness have found their 
way to my soul. Rose early. Felt the stirrings of a proud 
spirit, but God gave me the victory ; felt willing to be 
counted as the oflscouring of all things if it is his will. 
But I know this victory is only for a season ; I know this 
easily-besetting sin is only asleep. Oh that I may be sober, 
and watch unto prayer ! Poverty of spirit, utter self-renun- 
ciation, unfeigned humility — in these I am far behind. Our 
little meetings this morning and to-night were full and very 
attentive. Brother Coan spoke of faith. Deacon Tamo 
was not inclined to go out to preach, the opposition is so 
bitter. 

2d, Monday. — Heard that the people of Gawar sent their 
chief men to the modir. When they entered his room they 
threw down their turbans at his feet, saying, " Shall we or 
the English stay here? One must leave." Report goes 
that the modir wrote out their complaint, and sent two of 
their number with it to the pasha of Bashkollah. 

4:th. — This morning we were almost buried in the snow. 
It was above our roof. The tempest has blown furiously 
all day. What matter, if our house is on the Rock ? The 
storms of life will soon blow over, and we shall rest in the 
bosom of Jesus. 

6th, Friday. — The storm has raged all day, one continued 
heavy wind darkening the air with whirls of snow. 

I felt the stealing of despondency upon me, but God was 
with me and I did not yield. Felt a disposition to dwell 
upon the faults of others, but was enabled at once to banish 



100 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

all such thoughts and to pray for a kind and charitable 
spirit. Felt weary to-night — weary of my sins, weary of 
the world. O Father, may I have a burning desire to show 
thy power to this generation before I go hence ! 

Ith, Saturday. — Calm and peaceful. One would not know 
that it has stormed so hard for three days and nights. Often 
sweet peace comes after the heavy conflict. 

8^A, Sabbath. — A beautiful Sabbath day. Our little com- 
pany gathered around us as usual. When we see them so 
attentive, how our hearts yearn over them ! Oh there is 
but one voice that can reach these poor wanderers, and 
every day they . are getting farther away and that voice 
becoming more faint ! O dear Saviour, call louder, that 
they may hear and live. 

The two Turks left us to-day, as if for a neighboring 
Koordish village, but we hear they have gone out to the 
modir at Dizza. They said in the village, "The people 
there are all of one mind ; very quiet, and so busy learn- 
ing to read that they have not time to water their cattle." 

11^^, Wednesdaij. — Wrote to-day to my presbytery, hop- 
ing that it will reach America before their meeting in May. 
I want to do something in this way in advancing the inter- 
ests of the Kingdom, but I feel deeply my weakness. How 
can one mind influence another spiritually unless that mind 
is eminently spiritual ? To-day my one all-absorbing long- 
ing is to be filled with the Spirit ; but to-morrow my heart 
may be cold and apparently destitute of all sympathy with 
holiness. Oh for more steadfastness ! 

Memikan, Gawar, February 14, 1852, to Dr. Perkins: 

"I cannot express to you the deep regret we all felt when 
we learned that you were compelled to turn back from Ba- 
zan. Although we had had a heavy fall of snow, and for 
three days and nights heavy, drifting winds, still we felt 
pretty confident you would start from Oroomiah, and, once 



F.IEST WINTER IN GAWAR. 101 

started, we knew you would reach us if it was in the bounds 
of a reasonable possibility. But we were deeply disap- 
pointed ; and yet I think we had the grace of submission. 
How many times we said, ' We will talk this and that over 
with Mr. Perkins I' But although you did not reach us, 
from Zaia's account we know you did all you could, and we 
thank you with all our hearts. 

"We have had several very mild and beautiful days, and 
we begin to. hope the cold weather is over — I mean eighteen 
or twenty degrees below zero. 

" This plain,, has at times presented scenes of rare beauty 
and grandeur. There is something almost terrible in the 
angry clouds, the thick, dark atmosphere and the howling 
winds. Then, after the storm is hushed, and we look up 
at the clear blue sky, and look out upon the plain lying in 
calm beauty like a silver sea, unruffled, and around upon 
the mountains standing like old watch-towers, their stern- 
ness all softened down and yet none the less grand, we begin 
to love our mountain home for its natural scenery. And 
we know it would have found an enthusiastic admirer if 
you could have gazed upon it this winter. 

"We do most earnestly hope that the impressions of 
solemnity which seem to be taking hold of some hearts in 
the two seminaries will be deepened. I know the solicitude 
you all feel. We too are so bold as to hope that perhaps 
our dear Saviour will even visit us this winter. 

"I have not a moment of sadness or sorrow hut on account 
of my sins. This should not be sorrow without hope, for 
' there is a fountain filled with blood.' 

"Sabbath, 15th February. — To-day in our little Sabbath- 
school all repeated the first two commandments. It is 
affecting to see the parents come to the dekana (a raised 
platform in a stable), and, instead of spending their time 

9 « 



102 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

as formerly in idle talk, listen to the little boys committing 
the commandments and learn with them. 

"Saturday, February 21. — I look back over this week 
with deep regret. My mind has been unusually taken up 
with modern and ancient Syriac and Hebrew; and, strange 
to tell, I found my heart growing cold and my hours of 
devotion irksome because my heart was unusually interested 
in the study of that language in which I long to preach 
Christ crucified ! 

Sabbath, 22d. — It is deeply interesting to see the people 
of this little village so unwearied in their attendance upon 
religious services. Every Saturday afternoon they meet in 
the dekana to learn the Sabbath-school lesson with the little 
boys. This morning all, young and old, repeated the third 
and fourth commandments. As yet we see no heart-work 
going on. That a very great change has taken place since 
our coming here is evident ; but it is outward. 

To-day we were much tried by the apparent slothfulness 
of our native helpers, being unwilling to go out on the 
Sabbath to preach to their dying people, urging their bitter 
opposition as a sufficient reason. Other little trials con- 
nected with our missionary work have saddened my heart 
to-day. I feel that I deeply need far larger supplies of 
grace for my work ; and especially to be kind and forbear- 
ing toward our native brethren. O Lord, let me ever re- 
member my many frailties. 

29th, Sabbath. — Kose early, and enjoyed communion with 
my Father. I do thank him for this Sabbath. I was 
enabled to walk softly and carefully before him. 

My room was filled with people of the village, and as 
usual they seemed much interested in hearing the truth. 
To-day they repeated all the commandments. 

March 1, Monday. — A day of fasting and prayer in be- 
half of my own soul, ray dear brothers and sisters out of 



FIRST WINTER IN GAWAR. 103 

Christ, a world lying in wickedness, and especially the poor 
people among whom I live. 

Read the Epistle to the Ei:)hesians, pressing my own soul 
closely with practical questions ; turning its petitions, its 
warnings, its promises, its rich disclosures of the Divine 
fullness into prayer and praise. I can in no other way get 
so much spiritual good out of the Bible as when I pray 
over it, verse by verse, and sentence by sentence. I charged 
and summoned my soul this morning to the holy duties of 
the day, and God did not leave me alone. 

With but the faintest impressions of divine things, still 
the hours were precious. From necessity I could not be 
much alone, and had to hear my two lessons. Still I found 
my Saviour in some measure present. ISTow and then it 
seemed that I did get a faint impression of what it is to be 
an ambassador for Christ, an heir of glory, and what it is 
to rescue a soul from eternal burnings. But oh, often the 
feeling came over me how utterly short is this of the great 
realities ! O ray soul, wilt thou, canst thou rest until 
heaven and hell become more real? Canst thou be a 
trifler? Upon thy life, thy prayers, thy holy, heavenly 
walk, thy words, and thy hourly behavior may hang the 
eternal destiny of some kindred spirit ! my poor soul, 
I charge thee by all those tremendous realities among which 
thou wilt in a few days mingle, sleep no longer ! Be to- 
night what Jesus bought thee to be. Be what heaven, just 
at hand, calls thee to be. Be what judgment, and the un- 
dying worm and quenchless fire, warn thee to be. Be what 
the grace of God is now ready to make thee. Be, oh be 
now what thou knowest thou canst be. O my soul, wilt 
thou go back to slumber? I know thy weakness. Come, 
O dear Jesus, come and give relief 

3Iarch2. — Rose early. Read my usual Hebrew. A calm 
and peaceful day. Oh, it is sweet to get a faint glimpse of 



104 TENNESSEE AN IN PEESIA. 

our glorious rest, even a taste of its joys. O my soul, thou 
hast nothing to boast of yet. Thou art poor, and blind, 
and naked, and thy greatest misery is that thou knowest 
nothing. 

March 8, Wednesday. — I have frequently found it true 
that when I am striving with unusual watchfulness and 
earnestness to abide all the day in sight of God and 
eternity, I am suddenly surprised, thrown off my guard, 
and utter some word which does not seem like the meek 
spirit of my Lord ; and which, I fear, gives him pain. 
Thus it was to-day. I look up with a deep sense of my 
weakness to that rich grace which, at all times, if yielded 
to, would quickly bring us to the calm, composed, spiritual 
and heavenly frame of mind so desirable for every Chris- 
tian, and especially for a missionary. 

Many rumors come to us about the exceeding bitterness 
of the people in other villages. Tamo has hesitated about 
going out to preach. His last visit was rather trying. His 
kindred refused to bring him a Testament, telling him to 
talk without preaching. They will do nothing to encourage 
his coming to them. The modir, we learn, has advised the 
people to keep aloof from us, that we may soon leave. 
That is good worldly policy, but he knows nothing of 
heavenly policy. It will be one of our greatest trials to 
keep ourselves shut up in this village till the opposition 
passes away, but we must not despise our little work. 

Friday, March 5. — Yesterday, with several of the vil- 
lagers, Deacon Tamo went to the village of Keeat. In the 
evening, perhaps half the village assembled. They said, 
" Your words are true. We have not heard these things 
before. How could we? We are as beasts upon the 
mountains." 

Thursday, 11. — Messenger detained here on account of 
the fearful storm that has raged for three days. The wind 



FIEST WINTER IN GAWAR. 105 

has blown furiously ; and this morning we found the snow 
drifted far above our roof, completely stopping up the door. 
All the villagers had to dig their way out. 

Sabbath, 14. — Solemn, but joyful day. For several days 
my heart has been cold, and I know that I have grieved 
my Lord ; and yet he did not cast me off, but stirred my 
poor, frozen heart to return to him. I felt deeply humbled. 
I have no confidence in myself. I am utter weakness. 
Felt deeply grieved that I had refused to walk with Jesus, 
or to entertain him in my heart. He wishes to enter. He 
knocks. And oh, can- 1 drive him away? I have been 
trying to live in the sight of men. Oh, I fear this treach- 
erous heart has longed to be holy because holiness is es- 
teemed lovely. O Lord, help me to despise and thrust out 
from my heart every such motive, and to aim at holiness 
because it is pleasing to thee. Resolved, by the grace of 
God, never by looks or words or outward conduct to make 
an impression that there is more grace in my heart than 
there really is. O Lord, purify the fountain and pure 
streams will flow out. 

A month elapses, bringing the next entry down to the 
middle of spring, but winter still lingered. 

Friday, April 16. — For several days have been sick. 
Probably a slight attack of fever. Still feeble and unable 
to study much. Took a long walk with Mr. Coan. There 
is still much snow on the plain. 

Thus ends the last record in the journal of the first win- 
ter. We give a few extracts from letters : 

Under date of March 10, to Dr. Perkins : " The other 
day the rayis (chief) of Pirzalan came to our village. Mr. 
Coan and I went into the school, spent an hour or two hear- 
ing the boys spell, read and recite. The rayis seemed de- 
lighted with their progress, and the fact that every youth in 



106 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

the village is now a reader must make an impression. With 
all the stir that has been made, I doubt not that we have 
friends in every village who secretly desire the work to go 
forward. I have had to battle to-day with the leakage. 
With my little table and writing apparatus I have been 
dodging from corner to corner and side to side until here I 
am in the middle, about dark, with my papers considerably 
bespattered. The boys came to the rescue, and have kept 
up a great racket with their treading and pounding on the 
roof. They say, 'It ivon't leak any more.' We have more 
snow on the plain than we thought. Brother Coan and I 
measured it yesterday morning (March 9), and when we 
got down into the holes which we dug, we found that we 
could not cleverly see our way out. 

" 20th. — Violent S. E. wind. Rain, snow and hail. 

" Could you see the towering ramparts of snow and the 
deep ditch with which we have entrenched ourselves, you 
would think we feared being assailed with carnal weapons. 
I think an inundation is more to be feared than all our 
other foes put together. We should rejoice to announce to 
you that a highway is opened to our little village ; but we 
must be patient a little longer. Though we are charmed 
in the morning by the birds frisking and singing merrily, 
and now and then the sun shines mildly and genially, these 
are the only tokens that the spring has come. Old Winter 
still hesitates to let go his hold. Since our messenger ar- 
rived we have had another foot of snow." 

Even April 26 he says to Dr. Perkins at Oroomiah : " I 
suppose when this reaches you, you will be on the eve of 
your departure for Gawar. So far as we can learn, you 
will find the mountain pass difficult, and perhaps imprac- 
ticable. Callash spoke of it as impassable the day he came 
over. I suggested a delay of a few days as the safest. 
Your long-expected visit has been the theme of many an 



FIRST WINTER IN GAWAR. 107 

evening chit-cliat, and our expectations we hope will soon 
be realized." 

So soon ended their long winter siege the last of April. 
To their eyes beautiful upon the mountains were the feet 
of one of God's messengers of salvation joining them in 
publishing peace. 

THE NEST0RIAN8. 

Before going farther, let us turn aside from our story to 
answer the question, "Who are these Nestorians?" using 
materials furnished by Dr. Justin Perkins, the veteran mis- 
sionary to this ancient Christian sect : 

The Nestorians are a small remnant of a once great and 
actively missionary church, the oldest of Christian sects, 
and once numerous through all the regions of Asia, from 
Palestine to China. Of the Semitic stock, they claim to 
be of Israelitish lineage — a claim which can hardly be 
established. Nestorius, from whom they derive their name, 
was born in Syria. He was a presbyter at Antioch, where 
believers were first called Christians, and, in A. D. 428, 
was made bishop of Constantinople. His courage in resist- 
ing some popular superstitions, and perhaps his rashness in 
theological speculations, made him a mark for the hostility 
of contemporary bishops, particularly of the fiery Cyril of 
Alexandria. Summoned to a trial for alleged heresy before 
the third general council at Ephesus in 431, Nestorius was 
deposed and exiled to the desert of Lybia, where he died. 
His comparative purity in the general corruption which 
then prevailed was the real ground of the rigor with which 
he was treated. His refusal to apply the idolatrous epithet 
mother of God to the Virgin Mary was the brunt of his 
ofiending ; and if he ventured into dangerous theories on 
the mysteries of the Trinity, they received at the hands of 
his enemies the harshest construction. In fact, Nestorius 



108 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

may with considerable reason be pronounced the first 
Protestant 

His cause rapidly gained adherents ; and possessing the 
vitality of comparatively simple belief and practice, the 
sect early took the character of a vigorous evangelizing 
organization, sending missionaries and planting churches 
through all Central Asia, while the rest of Christendom were 
slumbering in the profound torpor of the Middle Ages. The 
history of this Church has been a varied one, sometimes — 
as under the tolerant policy of the mighty Tartar conqueror 
Genghis Khan — being raised to high places in the camp 
and at the court, while subsequently — as under the bloody 
monster Timourlane — they were cut down and swept away 
by myriads, till scarcely a vestige of them remained save 
in the fastnesses of inaccessible mountains. 

The present Nestorians are on the eastern borders of 
Turkey and the western borders of Persia, being thus in 
the very heart of Mohammedan dominion, and on the 
dividing line between the two great rival Mohammedan 
sects, the Shiites and the Soonees; the former embracing 
the Persians, and the latter the Turks and the Koords; 
those sects being mutually almost as hostile to each other 
as they are in common toward Christians. About two- 
thirds of their country — the western portion — lies in Tur- 
key, comprising much of Assyria, or modern Koordistan ; 
and the eastern third is in old Media, the north-western 
province of modern Persia, now called Azerbijan, 

The former portion is physically one of the wildest and 
roughest regions on the globe, abounding in scenery of 
surpassing grandeur and sublimity, and is inhabited by the 
not less wild Koords, among whom many of the Nestorians 
dwell. The Persian part of their country is one of the most 
beautiful on which the sun ever shone, consisting of several 
of the most charming Persian plains, bounded on the east 



FIEST WINTER IN GAWAR. 



103 



by the lake of Oroomiah, which is ninety miles long and 
thirty miles broad, while the towering ranges of Koordistan 
rear a lofty, snow-capped barrier on the west. 




1///^" 









'IS Ih 
, ''CvV 'J' ^¥ 




r^?*-- 

^•^^•- 




NESTORIANS. 



The Nestorians stand in the relation of oppressed tenants 
toward the Mohammedans, among whom they dwell, being 
cultivators of the soil and artisans in the more common and 
useful mechanical trades. One continuous people, while 
living in the two contiguous empires of Turkey and Persia, 
10 



] 10 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

they partake much of the respective local peculiarities of 
the two parts of their country ; those in the Turkish portion, 
Koordistan, being rude, untutored, bold and defiant, and 
those in the mild and sunny clime of Persia possessing much 
of the blandness and suavity common to all classes in that 
genial country. Their language is a modern dialect of the 
ancient Syriac, the language used by the Saviour when on 
earth. 

Their present number probably does not exceed one hun- 
dred and fifty thousand souls, about one-third of whom are 
found in Persia, and two-thirds scattered over a larger ex- 
tent in Turkish Koordistan. They are a noble race of men ; 
manly and athletic, having fine forms and good complexions. 
They are also naturally a shrewd, active and intelligent 
people, yet remarkably artless, affable and hospitable, and 
peculiarly accessible for missionary purposes. 

THE KOOKDS. 

Over a million of people, called Koords, speaking dialects 
of their own distinct languages, live wide-stretched through 
these same mountains of Turkey, from the north-east corner 
of the Mediterranean, along the Taurus mountains eastward, 
and from Russia down the vast ranges of Koordistan, that 
in Eastern Turkey form an almost impassable barrier be- 
tween Turkey and Persia. This widespread mountain race 
separate the Arab-speaking populations of Mesopotamia and 
Syria from the Armenians and Turks north of Taurus, and 
from the Persians eastward. History connects them with 
the Karduchi of Xenophon ; some think with the Chaldeans. 
Their language is corrupted by Turkish and Persian, to 
which (and to the English) it is more allied than to the 
Arabic. 

The Koords are almost all Moslems, of the Soonee sect, 
and are very superstitious and bigoted. They are divided 



FIRST WINTER IN GAWAR. 



Ill 



into numerous petty ti'ibes and sects. Like most mountain 
people, they are brave, passionate and rebellious, and often 
semi-independent. The Yezidee devil-worshipers speak 
Koordish, and belong to the same race. The Koords are 
profoundly ignorant, being almost without readers and 
writers. In ferocity and cruelty, when aroused by passion 
or in pursuit of plunder, they scarce fall below the savages 
of our American frontier. 




KOOEDS OF THE MOUNTAINS. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE STOEM BURSTS. 

¥E continue from the journal of Mr. Rhea : 
July 31, 1852. — Early in the spring we employed 
Deacon Tamo to build us a house. Timbers for the roof 
were purchased in the mountains, stones were drawn and 
workmen employed. The modir, to whom we had spoken 
freely, intimated no hindrance. We looked forward to a 
long, happy winter with our new associates in our new 
house. 

Our masons reached here July 2d, and began to lay stone 
July 6th. As soon as the modir knew that they were at 
work he sent word to Deacon Tamo, "The people of Gawar 
have a quarrel with you ; come and settle it." The deacon 
met the bishop and his people in the Turkish court. They 
were very violent, threatening to tear down as fast as he 
might build. The modir had no authority to prevent, but 
advised against his building. Tamo thought it would be 
wrong to yield to the unreasonable demands of an excited 
people ; therefore he asked three days' time to consider his 
answer. It was granted. 

Early on the morning of the third day two soldiers, with 
orders from the modir, rode up to the building after Tamo 
had gone to Dizza, and peremptorily ordered the masons 
to stop working, saying that a letter had come from the 
pasha forbidding the work. The work ceased. We had 
suspicions that this statement was false ; and afterward 
learned from the modir himself that he had received no 

112 



THE STORM BURSTS. 113 

orders from his pasha, but that the whole thing was planned 
in the mejlis (Turkish court). As his only excuse for such 
summary procedure he stated the fear of bloodshed, or at 
least personal violence to us ; a mere excuse, for two soldiers 
could have protected Tamo fully. But, recently in office, 
he was easily imposed upon by the bishop. The mejlis also, 
composed of an Armenian (the head of his village), a 
Koordish chief and a mollah, are our enemies. The poor 
villagers seemed deeply grieved, and urged us to obtain im- 
mediate redress. It was a heavy blow upon our hearts ; but 
we were enabled to look behind the cloud. 

Shortly afterward (July 14) I visited Oroomiah to take 
counsel. We concluded, with full statements of fact, to 
forward to our minister, Hon. G. P. Marsh, Constantinople, 
a paper signed by all the people of our village, requesting 
us to remain as their religious teachers ; and also to com- 
plain to the pasha at Van of the conduct of the raodir. 

Another sad and appai-ently very unpropitious event 
happened a few days since (July 14). A Turkish soldier 
was spending the night in our village. He was once a 
Christian, but five years ago fleeing the country (Mosul) 
for murder, enlisted as a soldier. He attended our evening 
worship, and lay down before our door in the enclosure 
made by the newly-drawn timbers. He was urged to put 
his beautifiil Arab mare in the stable ; but he preferred to 
rest his head upon the halter, and thought he would be 
secuj-e. About eleven o'clock, for the first time this sum- 
mer, thieves came prowling around the village. The young 
soldier arose and fired upon them. They fled. About mid- 
night they returned, stoned the shepherd of the village and 
came very near. Again the soldier rose, and, standing 
upon the timbers, fired upon them. The fire was returned. 
He fell, and died almost immediately, before Mr. Coan 
reached him. 

10 » H 



114 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

The next morning very early two men were sent to inform 
the authorities. They were detained while five soldiers came 
and carried away the corpse. The next day the people of 
the village were all taken to Dizza, and the modir took 
their testimony and forwarded it to the pasha at Van. 

Much excitement prevailed. Our enemies were busy. 
The young man falling just before our door necessarily 
brings us into undesirable connection with the affair in the 
minds of the Turks. The low soldiery even intimate that 
we were implicated in the murder. 

Yesterday a soldier came and took the villagers to Dizza 
again to give their testimony, the pasha not being satisfied. 
On arrival at Dizza, they learned that they must go to 
Bashkollah, or even to Van. They were confined closely, 
and treated rather as prisoners than witnesses. Some 
threats were used by the soldiers. 

When it was known that the men were to be taken to 
Bashkollah, the poor women seemed distracted. They gave 
vent to their grief in most lamentable cries, wringing their 
hands, smiting upon their breasts, uncovering their heads 
and pouring ashes upon them. We tried to comfort them, 
saying, Your husbands have only gone to Bashkollah to 
testify before the pasha. We hope they will soon return 
in safety. They almost refused to be comforted. 

One poor mother, a widow, had an only son thus torn 
away. It was already dark, and the village of the bishop 
was some three hours' distant. She said, " I will go ta the 
bishop ; I will fall at his feet ; I will seize the skirts of his 
robe and kiss them and beg for my son, my beloved, my 
only son. Let them not take him from me and I be left 
desolate." 

I trust this grief may prove the result of ignorance, and 
that the poor villagers will not suffer. Yet the rude soldiers 
who had care of them in Dizza, keeping them closely con- 



THE STORM BURSTS. 115 

fined and giving them little to eat, taunted them by saying, 
Thus we treat murderers. 

We are in a wild region, the home of a savage race but 
lately subdued, and we are in a measure defenceless. We 
have no human end to serve here; only to help poor, bruised, 
downtrodden humanity around us, and we know that we 
have the sympathy of Him who bled for it, and we can 
calmly repose in the arms of his tender love. 

August 3. — A dark day, but not too dark to rest calmly 
in the hands of God. 

Late in the evening one of the Koords who was carried 
to Bashkollah returned and told us that Tamo, Eshoo, Zaia 
and Hoshaba were in prison and in chains. 

At Bashkollah, on arrival, they were sent to the tent of 
the military pasha. He demanded of Tamo and his broth- 
ers and Hoshaba, " Why did you kill that soldier ?" All 
at once replied, " We are innocent of his blood." " Did 
not those Englishmen (the missionaries) kill him ?" With 
horror they spoke out, "They are men of peace. They own 
no weapons. All their teaching is to forbid murder, theft 
and lies." Of Deacon Tamo the pasha then demanded, 
"Why do Dot you and your village expel them?" Tamo 
said, in reply, " We cannot ; we want them ; they are good 
men, only doing us and our people good." The pasha 
asked, " Have you become English ?" Tamo replied, " I 
am their friend, and can never withdraw my hand." At 
this the pasha became angry, and commanded that he and 
his brothers and Hoshaba be thrown into a narrow, loath- 
some prison, where were already more than twenty prison- 
ers — that heavy chains be hung around each of their necks, 
and their feet confined in stocks. 

As we feared, our enemies seem to take advantage of the 
unfortunate murder at our door to bring serious annoyance 
and suffering upon the poor people who receive us, attempt- 



116 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

ing to expel us by persecuting them till they, or we for their 
sakes, are forced to leave. When the wives and mothers 
heard of the prison and chains, they set up the most dis- 
tressing wails. 

We were enabled in a measure to comfort them. Mr. 
Coan left at 9 P. M. for Oroomiah, hoping to get a letter 
from Colonel Williams, and with Dr. Wright to go speedily 
to Bashkollah, perhaps to Van, to aid our friends in bonds. 
God speed and crown their efforts with success. 

August 4. — Last night, at 2 A. M., three soldiers came 
to the village. I was sleeping on the roof, but they would 
not allow any one to waken me. They ordered the watch- 
man to tell the villagers to bi-eak every brick of ours upon 
the floors, or they would be beaten. They themselves went 
to the piles, and- broke perhaps a hundred bricks. An hour 
before dawn they left, taking Benjamin with them. 

About ten o'clock two soldiers came for Guergis. He 
slept by the side of the Turkish soldier when he was killed. 
He has been sick for some time. All i"emonstrance in his 
behalf was vain. My heart bled for the poor boy when I 
saw the soldiers carry him forcibly away, pale, emaciated, 
scarcely able to sit upon a horse, much less to travel a two 
days' journey. I gave Guergis a few kerans to buy him 
anything he might need, and sent my servant to help him 
on the road to Dizza. 

For two days we have been expecting our English friend 
Mr. Loftus, the geologist and antiquarian of the English 
commission for the survey of the boundary lines between 
Turkey and Persia. There are four commissioners — Eng- 
lish, Russian, Persian and Turkish. They have been en- 
gaged in the work for four years, and will complete it in 
about six weeks. Colonel Williams, the queen's commis- 
sioner, and his party, together with the Russian and Per- 
sian parties, visited our friends at Seir. Colonel Williams 



THE STORM BURSTS. 117 

(afterward the famous Sir William Williams, of Kars), 
while there, became deeply interested in the evangelization 
of the mountain Nestorians, and entered into all our troubles 
here with whole-hearted sympathy, kindly consenting to 
throw all his influence to secure us a comfortable residence 
here. To this end he forwarded letters to the modir and 
bishop, and also gave a letter to the pasha at Van. 

Friday, August 6. — A cavass came about twelve o'clock, 
bringing letters of introduction for Mr. Loftus, who with 
his party came in sight about two o'clock. I rode out, and 
had a very pleasant meeting with him and Mr. Cassalani. 
They pitched their very comfortable tents on the plot below 
our house, but they ate at our table and spent the time 
chiefly in our rooms. They make many inquiries, and are 
anxious to render us all the help they can. In fact, their 
leaving their company and visiting this plain is chiefly on 
our account, and is another testimony to the hearty interest 
Colonel Williams takes in our work. Mr. Loftus will de- 
liver letters from Colonel W. to the modir and bishop, and 
call in person. We esteem it an unspeakable privilege to 
meet with gentlemen so intelligent and refined, and to enjoy 
their very agreeable society, in this wild region. 

Saturday, August 7. — Early this morning Mr. Loftus sent 
Colonel W.'s letters to the modir and the bishop. Two or 
three hours afterward, an officer and two soldiers came from 
the modir, inviting Mr. L. to call upon him and dine with 
him. At 12 we started over to Dizza. About two miles 
from the village we met a number of officers and soldiers 
with renewed salutations from the modir, and another invi- 
tation to dine with him. As we approached Dizza we were 
met by the modir himself and the colonel of the regiment, 
who conducted us to their tents, pitched upon the flat below 
the village. 

We had not been seated long before Mr. Loftus intro- 



118 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

duced the subject of our residence here. He told the modir 
that he had left his party and traveled out of his way three 
or four days only to see us, his friends and the friends of 
the English commissioner ; and if he wished to show atten- 
tion and respect to him, he could do it in no better way 
than by making our residence here comfortable and pleasant. 

The modir expatiated upon the friendship that he had 
cherished for us. 

When asked, " Why have you stopped their building ?" 
he plead " orders from his pasha at Van ;" pretended that 
no subject could build a house so large as Deacon Tamo 
was building, without permission from Constantinople. 

Mr. L. was not disposed to press that point, for we knew 
he could give no liberty to build ; and we only wished to 
impress on the modir's mind that we had friends willing 
and able to obtain redress when our rights were trampled 
under foot. That impression I think was deeply made. 

The modir would not permit Mr. Loftus to leave without 
eating bread with him. While we were sitting, the modir 
having announced that the dinner would soon be ready 
unexpectedly Mar Sleewa, the bishop, came in, shook hands 
with us all, and took his seat. Mr. Loftus told him that we 
had sent him Colonel Williams' letter and word that we would 
call upon him at his house. The old man said, " Here is 
the letter, its seals unbroken. I have come to see you and 
get my letter read." 

Mr. Loftus interpreted the letter through his servant, 
who speaks a little broken Syriac, but the bishop, not un- 
derstanding, requested me to explain the words of Mr. 
Loftus, and also had a Turk read the letter to him. 

I had a pleasant interview with the bishop, telling him 
that he knew well the objects of our residence here — to raise 
up his downtrodden people, give them their own Scriptures, 
and declare their precious truths, of which they were now 



THE STORM BURSTS, . 119 

ignorant ; that he knew our only object was to do good ; and 
still, for some reason, he was opposed to it ; that we wanted 
his helping hand to save his dying people ; but if he chose 
not to give it he must bear the responsibility ; that we 
wished him to share the glorious work of evangelizing his 
people ; but, as it is God's work, " if it does not go for- 
ward with your influence and approval, it certainly will 
without." 

Dinner was now announced, and we walked up the hill 
to the room of the modir. A large platter was placed in 
the centre, upon a wooden frame, a foot and a half high. 
Little piles of bread were placed at the edge of the platter, 
and a dish in the centre. White napkins were spread upon 
the bread. Water was brought; we washed our hands, 
dried them with the napkins, and then spread them on our 
knees. We then put our fingers into the centre dish. It 
was soon taken away and replaced by ten or twelve, suc- 
cessively. Mr. L. complimented the dishes : " They must be 
prepared by a European cook." " No," said our host ; 
" but modern Turks derive all their notions of cooking from 
the Europeans." The food was very well prepared, indeed, 
thanks to the queen's commissioner. 

We soon took our leave; Mr. Loftus, in the name of 
Colonel Williams, commending us to the protection of the 
modir. He of course replied as one very anxious to please. 
We rode rapidly, and reached our village after dark. 

Monday, August 9. — Much to our regret, our English 
friends felt bound to leave us on the Sabbath to fulfill their 
engagement with Colonel Williams. How often I felt dur- 
ing my intercouse with these amiable and worthy men, 
'^ But one thing is needful," and lifted the silent prayer that 
they might be led to choose that good part! 

About 3 P. M. I was surprised in looking out of my little 
windo\y to see a horseman approaching our village rapidly. 



120 . TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

It proved to be none other than Mr. Coan. His return was 
very unexpected. 

On Wednesday morning, as he was descending upon the 
plain of Barodost, he descried the large assemblage of white 
tents of the boundary commissioners. (Nearly all the tents 
of Asia, of Arabia, of Koords and Turcomans alike, are 
hlach, being made of black goats' hair.) He could hardly 
believe his eyes. He was directed to the camp of Colonel 
Williams, and met with a warm reception. He soon made 
known his object. 

The most noble-hearted Colonel Williams at once said, 
"I am commander-in-chief of this party, and you, as a 
soldier, must obey. We will go direct to Bashkollah, and 
secure the release of your poor villagers." 

They were soon on the way ; traveled one day fifteen 
hours ; reached Bashkollah Thursday night late, and ap- 
peared before the pasha. 

The pasha was thunderstruck when he learned that the 
queen's commissioner was before him. Colonel W. re- 
quested that the chains be loosed from the necks of those 
innocent men — innocent at least until proved guilty ; that 
their feet should be taken from the stocks, and they be pro- 
vided with a comfortable place until the legal investigations 
terminated. 

This was promptly done. Our villagers were brought 
into the colonel's presence. They were worn down with 
fatigue, being compelled to labor in the burning sun with 
chains about their feet. They were deeply affected by the 
kindness of Colonel W. ; they crawled to him, kissed his hand 
and bathed it with their tears. 

Mr. Coan learned from Tamo the sad story of all their 
sufferings. When the pasha at Bashkollah told Colonel 
Williams that he was an inferior pasha, subject to orders 
from Van, Colonel W. at once requested a guard of five 



THE STORM BURSTS. 121 

soldiers, sayiug, " I yv\\\ go to Van in person and see that 
these men be released." He was unwilling that Mr. Coan 
should go with him, since he had left Mrs. Coan alone, and 
with much reluctance Mr. Coan consented to part with 
Colonel W. and return. 

That most noble man has now gone to Van, leaving all his 
appropriate work, traveling long stages through the burn- 
ing sun, that he may secure the release of our poor prison- 
ers, and throw the entire weight of his influence to get for 
us the liberty of building. 

May God bless him and make him yet a most distin- 
guished soldier of the cross of Jesus, and give him the 
crown of gold and the white robe of triumph ! Our hearts 
have been most deeply and tenderly affected by these pro- 
vidential occurrences. God rules in the heavens. Why 
then should we ever see a dark and frowning sky ? 

In July of this year (1852), Mr. Rhea broke away from 
his mountain home for the first time, and visited his fellow- 
laborers at Oroomiah. His intercourse with them for a 
few days was highly refreshing to him, and not less so to 
them, and especially delightful to his young friends. The 
sweet hymns were again sung, accompanied by the sera- 
phine, played charmingly by the "Persian Flower," Dr. 
Perkins' daughter, Judith, then scarcely twelve years old. 
Little did our brother imagine that that was his last visit 
with Judith, who, a few weeks afterward, was suddenly cut 
down by cholera. 

Mr. Rhea in Oroomiah again (on account of illness), 
writes thence to his parents : 

October 4, 1852. 

It is a long time since I have written you — nearly two 

months. Just when our post for August was leaving, I 

was taken with fever and confined to my bed two weeks. 

About three weeks after, when Mr. and Mrs. Coan left to 

11 



122 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

spend a few days in Oroomiah, I had not recovered my ac- 
customed strength, but was able to ride out with them an 
hour on their way. Shortly after I returned to the village 
I was taken with chills and fever, which lasted ten days. 
I was all alone, except Eshoo, a young man who stays with 
me. The next day he was also taken with chills and fever. 
The days which intervened between fever and ague I was able 
to sit up and take care of Eshoo, as he was also able to take 
care of me when he was not shaking. Dr. Wrig'nt very 
kindly came to my relief. He at once advised me to re- 
turn with him. The first day I could only ride two hours. 
But I improved so rapidly that on the fourth and last day, 
by resting a good deal, I was able to ride seven hours, and 
reached Oroomiah. I have been here ten days, enjoying 
the hospitalities of my dear friends. My health has im- 
proved every day since my arrival, and I hope to return in 
a few days. I look back upon the past few weeks as the 
most blessed of my life. I think I can thank our Father 
in heaven for every pain I have felt — for every long, weari- 
some, feverish night. It is very sweet and blessed to learn 
submission — quiet, joyful, submission — under his chastening 
rod. There is no solid peace or bliss for our souls until we 
can bring all our interests for time and eternity, and, with- 
out a single anxious thought, leave them at his disposal, 
feeling perfectly assured that he will do all things well. 
And I think one of the blessed fruits of sanctified afflictions 
is to lie quietly in our Father's arms, willing to be in ad- 
versity or prosperity, sick or well, to live or die, just as 
seemeth to him good. I said " I was all alone," but God 
was never so near and precious. They were most joyful 
days. I tremble for fear my heart will lose the impres- 
sion God was pleased to give me of his wonderful tender- 
ness, compassion and love. 

October 13. — More than a week has passed. I have had 



THE STORM BURSTS. 123 

another chill, but am feeling much better, and hope to set 
out for my mountain home in the morning. When I last 
wrote to you, a number of our villagers were in prison. 
All have been released except Deacon Tamo. He is still 
retained, though not treated as a prisoner. We hope he 
may soon be released. God has raised up in the person of 
the English commissioner, Colonel Williams, one who we 
trust will rescue him from the clutches of a government 
still cruel and oppressive. The pasha of our district has 
lately visited Gawar, and although we have not yet received 
permission to build the house we commenced, he has given 
us the privilege of putting up two small storerooms. Brother 
Coan and I occupy the station alone this winter. Mrs. Coan 
will spend the winter in Oroomiah. It is not advisable for 
her to spend another winter alone in a region so inhospitable. 
Most gladly would she spend another dreary winter alone, 
without the society of a missionary sister, or even a pious 
Nestorian female, with but few more comforts than she had 
last year, were it not considered hazardous to her health. 

We hope to-morrow to celebrate the Lord's Supper, and 
on Tuesday Mr. Coan, Mr. Crane and myself will return to 
Gawar. 

If we can breast the mountain storms and find a path 
thi'ough the deep snow, we hope to make our way to every 
Nestorian village on the plain. We cannot longer leave 
these perishing souls in hopeless darkness. 

The noble efforts of the Queen's commissioner for weeks, 
and months even, proved fruitless to release Tamo. Other 
trials were added. Mr. Rhea writes from 

Memikan, Dec. 15, 1852. 
Within the last few weeks we have received a positive 
order from the Sublime Porte to remove from Gawar. 
We were just on the eve of starting when we received the 



124 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

order from the Turkish government, through Mr. Marsh, 
our Minister at Constantinople. He did not advise us 
either to remove or remain, but simply announced the fact, 
hoping that the charges made against us were false. We 
determined to write to him immediately, assuring him of 
their entire falsity, and in the mean time proceed to Gawar 
and quietly prosecute our labors. We may be compelled 
to abandon our work in these wild mountains. It would 
be the saddest day of my life, but I have no idea that God 
will permit the enemy to triumph. 

Mar Shimon has lately made a tour of the mountain dis- 
tricts. You would naturally think of the venerable patri- 
arch, in the spirit of one of the holy prophets or apostles, 
passing from village to village, gathering around him his 
simple-hearted people, lifting upon them holy hands, invok- 
ing the rich blessings of God's grace, and with a loving 
heart pointing them away from earth's tears and sighings 
and oppressions to a home in heaven. But in all his jour- 
neyings not a word of prayer in their behalf fell from his 
lips; not a word of tender warning and entreaty to his poor, 
lost, wandering sheep to seek the good Shepherd. Oh, our 
heart sickens to think how God's ambassadors among this 
people have fallen ! I asked ray good old friend, the crip- 
pled pipe-maker from Ishtazin, if Mar Shimon assembled 
the people to pray with them and tell them of the things 
of God and heaven. " What," said he, " does Mar Shimon 
care for our souls ? Do you not know why he visits our 
villages ? Is it for anything else than to get our presents — 
our mules and garments and money? No, no, not one poor 
soul did he point to the Lamb of God." Of one thing we 
are certain — and whenever I think of it my heart is filled 
with unutterable joy — that wherever there is light or con- 
science it is on our side. A few nights since a stranger was 
present at our regular evening service. I looked around 



THE STORM BURSTS. 125 

upon the little group of forty immortal souls, and asked 
him if it was not pleasant thus to meet together to read 
God's Word and talk together of God and heaven. He 
replied, 

" Yes." 

" Why, then, do you not meet in your village?" 

" We are afraid." 

" Would God be angry with you were you to assemble 
thus to hear his truth?" 

"No." 

" Would your bishop?" 

" Yes." 

" Then are not God and your bishop disagreed about this 
matter, and ought you not to obey God rather than man?" 

He was thoughtful for a moment, but at length shrugged 
his shoulders and said, 

" What shall we do ? — we are nothing but men." 

While I was telling him that our errand to these dark 
lands was not, as some said, to take away their religion, but 
to save them from the coming wrath of God, soon to be re- 
vealed against all ungodliness, he broke out with some 
fierceness : 

" Do you not know that we intend to drive you out of 
our country, and had you not better return home now, in 
time?" 

I held up the ISTew Testament from which I had been 
reading, and asked him what book it was. He replied : 

" The word of God." 

" Do the bishop and his priests preach it to the people ?" 

"No." 

"Why?" 

" I don't know." 

" Is it not because this book is all light, and their deeds 
are all darkness ? " 
11* 



126 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

He looked around upon the villagers and said, 

" It is true." 

I continued, " Does God wish this word preached among 
your people ? " 

"Yes." 

" Then is it not evident that this dispute is between God 
on one side, and the bishop and his priests on the other? 
Is not God on our side? Are you not fighting against him? 
Do you hope to measure arms with the Almighty and 
triumph ? Can he not, and will he not, scatter to the winds 
all your counsels ? " 

He made no reply. After a few moments he apologized 
for what he had said about driving us from the country, 
and feared that he had offended me. 

I said to him, " Oh, no. We love you, and we have made 
up our mind to keep in a good humor about this matter. 
If there are any angry words to be spoken, they shall all be 
on your side. While you revile us and threaten our expul- 
sion, we will try and love you the more and pray for you 
the more fervently." He had a word to say to me in private, 
which amounted to about this : 

" If Deacon Tamo were released, and it were evident that 
the Turks would not oppress us, more than half of Gawar 
are ready to welcome you to their villages, and hear from 
your lips the words of eternal life." 

Poor Deacon Tamo ! We have yet no good word with re- 
ference to his release from imprisonment. Nearly six 
months have passed since he was taken from his village. 
He bears manfully this heavy trial. We send him some 
money to buy his food, also some little comforts in the way 
of clothing. 

Mar Siiimon when he was here showed great hostility to 
our residence in Gawar, and demanded of his bishop why 
he had nt)t expelled us before this. The bishop told him 



THE STORM BURSTS. 127 

he had tried as hard as he could, but he couldn't do it. 
" Then," said the Patriarch, " I will drive them out." 

We expect a hard-fought battle before we get firmly set- 
tled in the Koordish mountains. We are not in despair. 
I am very happy here in my little room, shut in again by 
the deep snows. I have had some chills and fever since 
my return, but I hope that a good deal of exercise in this 
bracing air and simple living will restore me to accustomed 
vigor. Bread, milk and rice form my diet, and I am grate- 
ful, I trust, for that. 

The following letter from Mr. Khea to Mrs. Coan gives 
us a cheerful picture of the home-life of the two mission- 
aries, if home it may be called when deprived of the pres- 
ence of the lady whose society had illumined the mountain 
hut and gilded the mud of its walls: 

Memikan, Gawab, January 20, 1853. 
First of all I will render my most hearty thanks for the 
beautiful velvet cap. When I held it up and its rich colors 
gleamed in the light of the lamp, my first thought was. 
This will never do for Gawar. But then I thought you 
made it, and you made it for me, and you made it for me 
to wear in Gawar ; and it will not be in sympathy with 
your unostentatious spirit to bring it forth at set times and 
for special effect. I will give it at once its place, to be a 
continual remembrance of a dear friend. It seems to do 
Brother Coan so much good to see it on that I could not 
be induced to take it off. He has made me blush more 
than once by flattering my improved personal appearance ; 
but I quietly think he means " the cap ;" and now, ye dust 
and smoke of Gawar, lay not your unwashen hands upon 
this crown of glory, until she who made it shall have 
looked upon it and recognized her own fair work ! 



128 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

How pleasant beyond expression would it be were you 
now with us ! But I know you bear with true womanly 
patience and fortitude this separation. Were I not afraid, 
I should say Brother C. is happier than last winter ; at least 
(being less anxious) he appears as cheerful. Sometimes we 
keep close to our books and writing all day, and hardly see 
• each other's faces until our evening meal, when we throw 
off dull care and " pour a hand" to each other's comfort. 
Separated during the day, we prize our evening visits. 

When you hear that an armed troop, with fife and drum 
and other warlike insignia (until forbidden by the modir), 
were coming to carry us, with our effects, over the moun- 
tains, to deposit us quietly on the Persian side, perhaps you 
will be glad that you are already there. The mode of pas- 
sage might not have been the most comfortable. Let me 
not speak lightly of the pitiable infatuation of our poor 
people. Oh no ! It grieves me to the heart. They are 
fighting against God. Jesus weeps over them; so should we 
weep and pray. 

The great mass of the people would not harm one hair 
of our heads were they not overawed, but would welcome 
us as guests and religious teachers. 

Amid all this brightening and darkening of our skies, 
this beating and surging, and then lapsing of the billows, 
it is very soothing to rest in the arms of our Lord. Oh 
how often we say he is asleep ! With trembling hearts 
and faces pale with fright we call the Master. With 
what shame we see him calmly rise and bid the waves, 
"Peace, be still;" and then we he^r his mild rebuke: "0 
thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" 

A few days later Mr. Rhea writes : 

Yesterday our mail brought us good news with reference 
to Deacon Tamo. The English ambassador at Constan- 
tinople presented his case before the Turkish government, 



THE STORM BURSTS. 129 

and a promise was given that an order would be sent forth- 
with for his release. 

This winter has not been so severe as the last, but the 
mercury fell several mornings to 15°, 20° and 24° helow 
zero. Two weeks since we made a little tour of five or six 
days among the nearest Nestorian villages. We tried to 
become one with the people — traveled on foot, sat with them 
in their stables, ate of their coarse fare, and lay down at 
night on a pallet of clean hay. I never felt better ; had 
a good appetite, slept soundly and sweetly, and was able to 
preach without fatigue day and night. In each village little 
groups of from forty to fifty persons gathered around us, 
and sat oftentimes from sunset until a late hour at night, 
listening to the truth. One night, after the younger part 
of the crowd had talked rather long and hard, contending 
for their long fasts and other vain superstitions, two vene- 
rable men, whose heads and flowing beards were white with 
the frosts of many winters, rose and said : " We are all 
wrong, we are all wrong. These, our friends, are right — 
they preach the truth ; hearken unto them." 

Mr. Rhea was left alone for some days whilst Mr. Coan 
visited Oroomiah. The following letter to Mrs. Coan de- 
picts the eagerness of watch from the mountain height un- 
der the Jeloo clifij and the delight of brotherly welcome to 
the mountain post : 

" On Tuesday I pointed the telescope once or twice in the 
direction of Dizza, thinking that Mi'. Coan might be on the 
way. On Wednesday I confidently expected him, and 
ordered our cook to make a good loaf of bread and a soup 
from the best part of our lamb, to take up the rugs and 
give them a thorough shaking, and make things look as 
bright and cheery as our limited resources would permit. 
About 1 P. M., as I was gazing at Dizza with my telescope, 
two horsemen suddenly came into the field of vision, and I 



130 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

knew that Brother Coan was one of them. I turned to 
Eshoo, and told him : " They will be here in two hours." 
He was much astonished at the power of the instrument ; 
but sure enough in a little less than two hours your husband 
was with us again, safe and sound. It was good" to be 
alone, that I might all the more heartily appreciate our 
intercourse." 

Here is an Oriental picture : 

" I am sorry you cannot be here to mingle in the festive 
scenes soon to be enacted in Memikan. Oraham the son 
of Tulya is to take a wife from the house of Basso of Keeat. 
A number of our villagers went on Friday to fix the price 
and consummate the bargain. On Saturday the father of 
the bride and others came, and yesterday were very atten- 
tive to all our religious services. During our walk this 
morning we met them starting homeward with an ox and 
six sheep, the price they had set upon the head of their 
daughter. The nuptials will probably be celebrated in six 
or eight days." ' 

DEACON TAMO. 

Thus the weeks and months rolled on, and during all 
this time what of poor Tamo. Has the powerful influence 
of the queen's commissioner been thwarted ? Is it possible 
for the responsibility for bitter persecution to be tossed back 
and forth like a shuttlecock over the head of such a man 
as the hero of Kars, the poor prisoner still wearing out 
weary months while modir writes to pasha, and pasha awaits 
instructions from the Sublime Porte at Constantinople, and 
the Sublime Porte writes down to the extremities of the 
languid Empire for fuller information, and letters take over 
a month to go and come? Has "how not to do it" rusted 
into the heavy bolts of the doors which never turn for one 
wearing the garb of justice unless essence of gold be distilled 



THE STOEM BUESTS. 131 

into smoothest oil and applied with free and silent hand to 
both bolt and hinge? 

The queen's commissioner at first, and next Lord Strat- 
ford Canning, the most influential of ambassadors at Con- 
stantinople, have asked and received promises in behalf of 
innocent Deacon Tamo. Was a promise ever broken in 
the good land of the faithful who pray five times a day 
and fast the whole month of Ramadan ? Was ever one of 
those smooth promises that slip so easily from the oily 
tongue of a pliant grand vizier into the delighted, trusting 
ear of the favored ambassador of the most favored nation, 
ever meant to be as crisp and well buttered and as brittle 
as, for hundreds of years in old empires, pie-crust has tra- 
ditionally been? 

Ask Lord Stratford. Ask Colonel Williams, the later 
"Williams pasha" of the Turkish Empire, and since major- 
general commanding all the queen's forces in Canada. 
Ask, if you ever see him, here or in glory, our noble friend, 
Christ's faithful disciple, suffering for Christ's sake, Deacon 
Tamo ! 

Unceasing efforts were made for the poor prisoner, but 
still in vain. Tamo yet languished in chains. 

Mr. Rhea writes to Mr. Coan, March 14, 1853, after a 
short visit to Oroomiah : " We found the snow had melted 
from the road almost to the pass. By keeping on the sunny 
side of the mountain after crossing the pass, we had a fine 
road to Mero's Castle ; there we met considerable snow, 
increasing in depth until we reached Bazirga. The last 
hour was very difficult for our horses. The next morning 
a few inches of fresh snow had made a fine crust, and the 
villagers all said that there would be no difficulty in cross- 
ing the plain. We, however, had gone only a few paces 
from the village when we found deep, stiff" snow, impassable 
for horses. After floundering for a while we returned to 



132 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

the village, left our horses aud traveling bags, and took up 
the line of march for Memikan on foot. The river was 
full, and only to be forded at Kerpil. Two Armenians 
became our pilots. The crust was pretty good, though we 
frequently broke through, and several times found ourselves 
nearly knee-deep in water. Then our waterproof boots did 
good service. From Kerpil to Memikan we had a hard 
time. At midday the crust would not bear us, and the old 
path had been filled in with snow. I despaired of reaching 
the village ; but we tugged on, and at last arrived about 
sunset. 

"A large company of the villagers, headed by the good 
old Eshoo, came out to meet us.. I was unmanned by the 
tokens of their affection. The little girls smothered our 
hands with kisses, and the poor women were all out upon 
the roof to bid us welcome. Their first question was, ' How 
is hanum (the lady, Mrs. Coan) ? How is hanum ?' 

"Eshoo and Khamis and the family were much rejoiced 
at the news from Tamo. They had been in great anxiety 
for several days. Evil-minded men had circulated another 
report that he was beheaded, and the family half believed 
it." 

Two months more of Deacon Tamo's prison-life passed, 
and March 22 he writes to Dr. Perkins : " Poor old Eshoo 
came in this afternoon burdened with grief. Every few 
days his heart becomes too full, and he must come in to 
pour out his sorrows. He says he has no heart to go to the 
mountains to get timbers for his ploughs, or make any prep- 
aration for labor the coming summer, so long as his dear 
brother is in prison. I told him to be of good courage ; 
God will deliver Tamo. He has raised up many friends ; 
and, if necessary, some of our number will go even to Stam- 
boul (Constantinople), and stay there till the news of Tamo's 
release reaches them, I told him, ' If we are so happy as 



THE STOEM BURSTS. 133 

to get to heaven, we will sit down together and talk over 
these days of sorrow, and praise that rich grace which 
brought us safely through to that happy land where the 
eye never fills with tears, the heart never throbs with an- 
guish,' His face brightened with joy, the tears stole down 
his cheeks, and the poor old man's heart was comforted. 

" Khamis (a younger brother) seems quite anxious to visit 
Tamo, and I have been disposed to favor his going, that he 
may be there when the order for release may come, to bring 
him home if it takes effect — if not, to know the reason. 

" They have been sorely tried by all kinds of rumors. A 
few days since an old sheikh came from Bashkollah, and 
reported that the pasha was demanding of Tamo 600 
tomans ($1200), and that he should renounce all connec- 
tion with us ; and if he did not meet these demands, he 
should lose his head, and his brothers would then be seized 
and confined until they were willing to expel us from their 
villages. These rumors, although they do not believe them, 
have naturally a depressing influence. I am glad that they 
feel that we are doing all that can be done. All the kind- 
ness we can show to Tamo will tell in years to come upon 
his attachment to us and our work in the mountains. He 
has much that is generous and noble in his temper, and a 
heart peculiarly sensitive to the approaches of sympathy 
and affection." 

After nearly another month, April 12, sorely-tried Mr. 
Rhea writes to Dr. Perkins, of Tamo : " He is our brother 
in bonds. The more I think of it, the more and more it 
seems a case of most flagrant oppression. I have no hope 
in the last order. An inimical pasha, such as we know 
Mohammed Pasha to be, will, or in all probability has, slid 
the order under the cushions of his divan, saying ' The case 
is misapprehended in Stamboul.' There is a faint hope 
that the poor fellow will now be released." 

12 



134 TBNNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

Tamo's brother, Khamis, visited Van with high hopes, 
but returned disappointed, "The pasha kept him four 
days," says Mr. Ehea, and " at last told him that he could 
.not release Tamo according to his promise; that he was 
just ready to do it, but he got a letter which showed that 
we had been complaining against him ; it made him angry, 
and now he would not release him ; but * it was that let- 
ter which q)oiled the whole affair ! ' " 

He talked to Khamis in a very angry manner, charged 
him with being an accomplice with us in making com- 
plaint. He made so strong an impression of hostility and 
deceitfuluess that Khamis says he will never venture to 
trust him again. The deacon, he says, is as patient as we 
could expect him to be. 

Would there be risk in attempting to build up our 
front wall, which is insecure, and the wall of our store-room, 
which tumbled down, or in attempting more effectually to 
keep out the smoke? Would it affect Deacon Tamo's 
cause unfavorably ? 

On July 12, 1853, he addressed to the writer, at Mosul, 
the following letter : 

On last Saturday I had the pleasure of welcoming to our 
humble cabin in Gawar, Mr. and Mrs. Crane and Master 
Morris Crane, and Mr. and Mrs. Coan, from Oroomiah. 
Perhaps you will think it strange that ladies should be 
coming into Koordistan at this time of ' rumors of war,' 
but Dr. Wright immediately on its arrival at Oroomiah 
will send us the latest news from Constantinople, so that 
there will be time to retreat if the stay of our friends is 
perilous. About half of the soldiers here have left for 
points nearer the capital ; and at any time heavier drafts 
may be made. With intense interest we watch the arrival 
of our next messenger from the West. How consoling the 



THE STORM BURSTS. 135 

thought that God rides upon the storm, and can make its 
fearful elements usher in the reign of peace and love ! 

"Just before leaving America, in talking with Dr. Ander- 
son about my probable sphere of labor, he gave me the 
liberty of circulating between Oroomiah and Mosul. As 
yet I am only thus far, and I am anxious to see other por- 
tions of my parish. Had Mr. Crane an associate, the two 
families would suiBce for this region, and I would try and 
get a hold in the heart of the Nestorian mountains. For 
two long years I have nursed and cherished this longing of 
my heart, but I know not when it may be satisfied. God 
oftentimes tries our faith and patience and love by a com- 
paratively insignificant sphere of labor, and if we are true 
and loyal in meeting those responsibilities, he will doubt- 
less say, sooner or later, ' Come up higher.' " 

For the past two weeks, during Mr. Crane's visit to Oroo- 
miah, I have been making some repairs in our premises, 
and I think we shall succeed in getting the two rooms, 
which we have hitherto occupied, out of the ground, free 
from dampness, darkness and smoke. Khamis has built a 
small room, which we can occupy if necessary, and will 
probably build another this season. Thus little by little, 
year by year, we hope to get a home in Gawar, where our 
health will not be exposed. 

Poor Tamo is still in prison, every effort for his release 
having signally failed. Mr. Stevens made a representation 
of the case to Lord Stratford, and weare in hopes now that 
every post will bring good tidings of liberty to the captive ; 
but it would not be strange if, in the present disturbed 
state of things at the capital, poor Tamo should remain for 
weeks yet in confinement. 

He writes from Gawar, August 10, 1853 : 

My Dear Brother Marsh : We rejoiced to hear that 
your apprehensions in regard to your safety have been in a 



136 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

great measure relieved. The news this side of the moun- 
tains to-day is scarcely more recent than you sent us three 
weeks since. We are in the dark as to the fact of war having 
been already begun, though you are probably now informed. 

Mr. Stevens (English consul at Tabreez) has advised us 
to withdraw from the mountains ; but we who are on the 
ground, and see and hear everything that is going on around 
us, are probably better able to judge of our security than 
our friends away. The soldiers, amouiiting to some two 
hundred, have, two or three weeks since, except thirty, left 
this district. But the pasha at Bashkollah sent for two or 
three old Koordish chiefs, from whom, if at all, danger was 
to be apprehended, authorized them to raise forty or fifty 
horsemen, and to them, with the officers and remaining 
soldiers, committed the country, requiring the damage of 
thefts and robberies at their hands. Our people say the 
country was never so quiet and secure; still, we do not 
know^ Koords are treacherous, and wait a fitting time to 
do a dark deed. 

Our friends in Oroomiah felt anxious, and advised Mrs. 
Crane to return to Oroomiah. She was just becoming ac- 
quainted with our people and interested in teaching the 
little girls, and to think of returning was a great trial. 
Still it was safest. Mr. Crane has come back, and Ave are 
alone again, working ofif these long summer days as we 
best can. 

We have been very anxious to spend some time in the 
interior mountain districts, but until now have been pre- 
vented, waiting the issue of poor Tamo's case ; but the pros- 
pect of his release grows darker. 

Three months ago it was the opinion of a majority of our 
mission that Tamo would not be released until some one of 
our number went in person to Lord Stratford with all the 
necessary documents and facts in the case, and remained in 



THE STORM BURSTS. 137 

Constantinople until a strong order was given for Tamo's 
unconditional discharge. Mr. Stevens was consulted at 
the time, and he was requested to lay the case before Lord 
Stratford. He was confident that very soon he would bring 
him out. But I fear the great man is so absorbed in politi- 
cal affairs that, when the fate of an empire may be pending, 
the poor prisoner, from necessity almost, will be forgotten.* 

Our position was never so embarrassing ; but it is a po- 
sition in which God's providences have placed us, and we 
only beg for the grace of entire and unreserved submission. 

The deep feeling of Mr. Rhea for Tamo is still more 
earnestly and tenderly depicted in the following extracts 
from a letter to Mr. Coan : "Tamo is well, but I am afraid, 
poor man ! is getting out of heart. I send you a few lines 
from him, Khamis says he has kept up nobly till now ; 
but he thinks sufficient time has passed for some reply from 
Lord Stratford, and that his case is almost hopeless. The 
last day Khamis was there a poor fellow-prisoner was taken 
from Tamo's side to appear before the pasha. As he went 
out he threw his cloak over his shoulder, saying, * I am 
going. Tamo, but God only knows if you will ever see me 
again.' That afternoon the poor fellow was beheaded. The 
murdered man was the only son of a widow, and she re- 
fused anything less than blood for blood. The tragical 
scene seemed to work strongly upon Tamo's feelings. Al- 
though he has the general belief that the pasha would not 
dare to harm him, still he has shown such determined hos- 
tility that Tamo does not know but that he might in an evil 
hour make way with him too. The first day Khamis saw 
the pasha he told him Tamo would never leave his prison 
till we left Memikan. The last day he swore three times 
that in twenty days he would send him home. He seems 
to take a fiendish delight in tormenting the poor sufferer, 

* The Crimean war was coming on. 
12 * 



138 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

and tantalizing him by delusive hopes of relief. My dear 
brother, believe me, winter is coming, and we must do some- 
thing for poor Tamo. For one entire year, day after day, 
and week after week, and month after month, through the 
long winter, and again through the long summer, we have 
put off his confiding friends by promises of help through 
letters. 

Another month passes. September 13th he writes : 
" From an interview Dr. Lobdell and myself had with the 
modir on last Wednesday, I had strong suspicion that there 
would be foul play in some way in reference to Tamo, 

" On Thursday morning it was determined that Mr. Coan 
and myself go to Bashkollah and know definitely about 
Tamo's case. We left at half-past one, spent the night in 
Manis, rose before daylight, went on our way, and reached 
Bashkollah at half-past two o'clock. We called on Kamil 
Pasha a short time after reaching there. He told us that 
Mohammed Pasha had sent Tamo to him a week before, 
commanding him to see that the people of Gawar make no 
disturbance on Tamo's arrival. He wrote to the modir 
here, inquiring how it would be if Tamo should come home. 
The modir wrote back that the whole people were bitterly 
opposed to his return. Kamil Pasha then sent for the 
bishop and Meero Bey, intending to charge them to see 
that no disturbance was made on Tamo's return. These 
two dignitaries spent the night in Manis with us. We did 
not then know their business ; but having strong suspicions 
that they were going on, if possible, to prevent Tamo's re- 
lease, we left them the next morning two or three hours 
behind, feeling the importance of our seeing the pasha first. 
We asked Kamil Pasha, ' Is there any objection to Tamo's 
return with us?' He said, 'None whatever,' and added, 
* I know Tamo is innocent. He has been persecuted by 
the bishop, whom I know to be his enemy.' He gave us a 



THE STOEM BUKSTS. 139 

soldier to accompany us and to carry a letter to the modir, 
in which he charged him to see that no man ' moved his 
tongue against Tamo ;' and if any man troubled Tamo, to 
inform him immediately, and he should receive merited 
punishment. He wished to know if he should remove this 
modir; for, said he, 'I fear he does not look after your 
interests.' " 

We did not ask his removal, but that he would not per- 
mit himself to be used as a tool by a few wicked and de- 
signing men. The pasha said he would charge him to that 
effect, and particularly to rebuke the bishop, Aibkhan and 
Basso for the iniquitous part they have played in this affair. 

He called in Tamo, gave him his hand, and asked God's 
blessing upon him. We left the pasha with hearts over- 
flowing with gratitude that He had conducted us to Bash- 
kollah just at that time. 

Our party left Bashkollah at 7 P. M., and we reached 
Memikan at half-past five Saturday evening. It was an 
affecting scene to see Tamo embracing his little children 
and the crowd of kinsmen and friends who came out to 
meet him. 

If we had not gone to Bashkollah, the bishop and Meero, 
without doubt, would have brought him with them. In 
fact, Meero said in Manis that he was going to bring him 
out for our sakes, and would bring him at the risk of his 
head. It would have been very unfortunate, after Tamo 
was released through the influence of the English ambassa- 
dor, to have had the bishop and Meero Bey bring him home 
and make the impression that his final release was secured 
through their influence. 

Blessed for evermore be the name of our God for all his 
gracious superintendence of this afllictive event. Tamo 
appears very well indeed — his spirit much chastened and 
humbled. He will probably visit Oroomiah before long. 



140 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

I have written this very hasty line amidst the confusion 
and uproar of chavadars loading their animals, and also 
with unnumbered interruptions. It is to me a very unsat- 
isfactory account of a journey the most pleasant I ever 
made. Kamil Pasha is a most affable, and apparently a 
most generous, humane and noble-hearted man. 

I regret to be under the necessity of requesting you, as I 
cannot possibly find time for it, to address to Lord Stratford 
a letter expressing our most sincere thanks for his successful 
efforts in behalf of Tamo. 

We leave in a few moments for Mosul. 



\ 



CHAPTER XI. 

VISITS MOSUL — EXPLORES THE MOUNTAINS. 

IF Paul ever had hope and was enlarged "to preach the 
gospel in regions beyond," Mr. Rhea shared his burning 
zeal. The Master now took him by the hand, led him into 
the great mountains, showed him the lost sheep, shepherd- 
less these many generations, yet under the Rock sheltered 
from utter destruction, that threatened from wily Persians, 
relentless Turks and cruel Koords. 

Dr. Lobdell, more fortunate than the Mosul party two 
years before, had run the gauntlet of Koords from Mosul 
to Persia, and now, almost trembling to return alone, had 
asked company of the Oroomiah brethren. Rumors of war 
were floating. Doubts were felt of the propriety of risking 
a journey in the mountains. It was decided finally that 
Messrs. Rhea and Coan, accompanying Dr. Lobdell, should 
visit their brethren at Mosul, and explore not only the 
mountain districts between Persia and Nineveh, but also 
the Nestorian districts beyond, between Mosul and Diar- 
bekir on the Tigris. 

Thus Dr. Lobdell was at Gawar on his way home. As 
I write the name of the dear doctor, my most beloved phy- 
sician, how do these thin paper letters before my eyes from 
so many Persian and Turkish fellow-missionaries recall a 
thousand Oriental scenes, of Constantinople, Smyrna and 
Beirut, of mountain and plain, of Tigris and Zab, of Koord- 
istan and Persia ! While by our own Mississippi I write 
now in sound of passing steamers upon this longest river in 

141 



142 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

the world, that " ancient river " of Paradise seems nearer ; 
and again, from Diarbekir to Nineveh, two hundred and 
ninety miles, I float down the Tigris on raft of goatskins to 
Dr. Lobdell's sick bed; again, at the bridge of boats, I 
crowd by the camels into Mosul gate, hasten through the 
familiar, narrow streets, enter my own court, softly greet 
the loved ones, ask hushed inquiries, gently pass into the 
doctor's sick room, stand by that iron bedstead, look into 
the hollow, joyful eyes, read my blessed welcome, feel the 
thin arms thrown around my neck, and hear my sick 
brother say, "Praise to God! Praise to God!" Ev«n then 
my dear doctor was on the bank of the heavenly river, the 
clear river of paradise which flows from the throne of 
God! 

Oh this is all so real ! So is Gawar real. That great 
Gawar valley I see. I see the hamlet where I tented, a 
passing guest, three years before, in this very village of 
Deacon Tamo, where, with blessed self-denial, Mr. Khea 
had now for two years made his home. 

At this period Dr. Lobdell had in him such fullness of 
exuberant life as we might expect in a young angel. I 
know well what those expressive words mean which Prof. 
Tyler has from his journal placed in the doctor's memoir 
in regard to this Gawar abode: "Such a home!" Mr. 
Rhea was almost troubled that his home should seem to 
his most welcome guest so little like home. Each thought 
of the comfort of the other. Of this matter he writes : 

September 6, 1853. — We are enjoying the doctor's visit as 
you might well suppose we would who see so few strangers, 
and especially missionary brethren. The sick have come 
in from all quarters. He seemed perfectly astounded to 
find American missionaries living in such a place. Con- 
trasting our present accommodations with those of the first 
winter, I had begun to fancy them pretty comfortable ; but 



VISITS MOSUL AND THE MOUNTAINS, 143 

the doctor has made so much sport of them that I have 
almost become ashamed of them." 

Dr. Lobdell, with whatever of playfulness, had also a 
noble enthusiasm. These are his exultant words greeting 
Mr. Ehea's return from Bashkollah : " Deacon Tamo is 
free ! And could you have seen the joy of all his fellow- 
villagers as he came home from his prison-house, and the 
kind salutations even of the Koords of the mountains — 
could you have witnessed the meek bearing of the man 
himself, and heard the eloquence with which the next day 
he spoke to his attentive audience of salvation by the Re- 
deemer's blood — I think you would have felt that the truth 
is speedily to triumph even in those regions where now are 
wandering among the ignorant and superstitious Nestorians 
men of villainy and blood." 

A few words from Prof. Tyler's admirable memoir will 
afford almost a photograph to the careful reader : 

" They set out from Gawar on the 13th of September. 
The first night they spent without sleep in Ishtazin, at the 
foot of a frightful staircase, down which the mules, loaded 
with their bedding, had rolled into the river. The next 
day they wound among the gorges of Little Jeloo, creeping 
now along the face of almost perpendicular rocks by pass- 
ages cut in the time of the Assyrian kings, and now reach- 
ing an elevation from which they could look around on an 
ocean of mountains rising wave beyond wave, sometimes 
eight parallel ridges at once, and with the storm-clouds 
ever and anon gathering and bursting over them, remind- 
ing one strongly of a storm at sea. Sometimes they came 
to low, circular depressions, in which were terraced grounds 
covered with millet, tobacco and vines, with here and there 
a green tree, while the houses are built above the arable 
ground, on the mountain-side, in tiers, perhaps a dozen or 
twenty rising one above another, and every roof being a 



144 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

sort of door-yard for the house on the next terrace. Every 
foot of ground is occupied, and is as valuable to the inhab- 
itants as the ground along the wharves to the people of a 
great city." 

Dr. Lobdell says, " I have heard of the attachment of the 
Laplander to his snows, the Scotch Highlander to his moun- 
tains, the Swiss to his Alpine glaciers, but I cannot con- 
ceive of a stronger love of country than these Nestorians 
cherish for their little plots of ground far down amid the 
volcanic peaks, among which their fathers were driven to 
find a refuge from the fierce hordes of Tamerlane, The 
two giant summits of Jeloo, with their precipitous sides 
robed in white, were on our right. These two peaks are 
said to be fifteen thousand feet high. They are the highest 
in Koordistan, and are distinctly visible from Mosul." 

Mr. Rhea and Mr. Coan delighted to linger with those 
mountain Nestoriaiis to whom they could in their Syriac 
freely declare the unsearchable riches of Christ. 

The travelers were ten days in reaching Mosul, whence 
Mr. Rhea wrote to Dr. Perkins : 

" With all the vexations we had from muleteers, and the 
much sorer trial of not being able to have as much religious 
intercourse with the people as we wished, still I enjoyed 
beyond expres'sion my first sight of the wild scenery of 
Koordistan. For the first three days of our journey I was 
oppressed by the idea of being so hemmed in by mountains 
so lofty and so difficult, but this feeling was much relieved 
as I entered the beautiful valley of T'khoma, and as the 
mountains from that point diminished in height our road 
became easier. The close and narrow ravines of Bass and 
Jeloo and T'khoma widened into the more open but still 
broken districts of Choll, the rolling plains of Amidiah, 
until at last the great mountains of Koordistan had all 
melted away into the immense plain of Assyria, stretching 



VISITS MOSUL AND THE MOUNTAINS. 145 

out like a vast sea, having no visible beauty at this season, 
and impressive only in its immensity. 

" As my mule slowly plodded on over the great plain 
of Assyria, once teeming with a mighty population that is 
now mingling with its dust, one idea filled my mind, and 
that was a vast desolation. O God, how mysterious and 
how mighty are the revolutions wrought by thy powerful 
arm! 

" Blessed be his name for the lesson he taught me of hi.s 
majesty and dominion ; of man's insignificance and the 
vanity of all human glory ! " He reached Mosul Sept. 22. 

Prof. Tyler speaks of this blessed season of spiritual com- 
munion as " a missionary visit made useful and delightful, 
like those of the apostles, by frequent seasons of social and 
public worship." The native brethren, and especially the 
church members whom Mr. Rhea (with or without an Arab 
speaking brother) visited every one and conversed with them 
in their homes, " saw and felt as they had never done before, 
how sweet is the fellowship of real spiritual Christians. 
Though the churches were organized under different forms, 
and the missions (Assyrian and Nestorian) were conducted 
on different plans, they were manifestly one in spirit. 
Though separated by lofty mountains, they belonged to the 
same fold, and were under the care of the same Shepherd. 

A month later, Mr. Rhea wrote, " The few days we spent 
with our dear friends at Mosul I shall remember as among 
the most pleasant days of my life." The Mosul circle was 
then an unbroken band — three happy homes, three young 
missionaries and their wives. 

Of course Mr. Rhea must visit the ruins of Nineveh. It 
was our frequent luxury for years not only to visit our- 
selves, but to introduce our English friends, or, at rare in- 
tervals, fellow-missionaries to these wonders. Mr. Rhea 
says with regard to the memorials of the ancient Nineveh : 
13 K 



146 TEJSTNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

The ruins of Koyunjik, supposed to be one of the royal 
palaces and within the precincts of the great city lie but 
a short distance east of the Tigris. The ancient wall may 
still be traced distinctly, and at one corner, within the en- 
closure, is the large mound from which have been dug up 
remains of the " buried city." 

We gave our horses into the hands of some Arabs, and 
entering an opening in the mound, and going down a short 
distance, we found ourselves among what are supposed to 
be the old Assyrian palaces. We entered the gateway of 
the palace, between two gigantic figures standing out in 
bold relief from the great marble slab, bearing the head of a 
man, the body of a bull, and the wings of an eagle. We 
met quite a number of these colossal figures during our 
walk through the ruins. They are supposed to be the em- 
blem of the Assyrian deities, having the intelligence of a 
man, the strength of a bull, and the swiftness and energy 
of the eagle. Passing through this grand gateway, we now 
entered the halls of the palaces, whose sides were faced with 
sculptured slabs. Strange sensations came over me, as 
these walls gave back a hollow echo to our voices. Here 
kings and nobles once reveled ; these walls once resounded 
to the song of the viol and the stamp of the dancers ; eager 
eyes once looked upon these marble pictures, and read these 
now mysterious inscriptions, which record the triumph of 
proud Assyrian monarchs. Here were sculptured pictures 
of a besieged city, its strong walls and lofty towers, the 
invaders at one point scaling the walls with ladders, at 
another just ready to enter the breach made by the batter- 
ing-rams, and at another repulsed and hurled back by the 
soldiers that man the walls. There were descriptions of 
a triumphal procession of the king returning from some 
foreign conquest, and in his train long lines of fettered and 
sorrowful-looking captives — perhaps the poor Israelites; 



VISITS MOSUL AND THE MOUNTAINS. 



149 



and again there were suppliants, each, with his present 
coming to acknowledge his new sovereign. In other places 
were sculptures of chariots and horses and horsemen, cities 
and walled towns, battles and sieges, lion-hunts and varied 
representations of the chase, together with domestic scenes, 
such as bread-baking. 

Thus we wandered on and on, hour after hour, looking 
at these strange antique devices, admiring the skill and 
taste with which they were executed more than twenty-four 
hundred years ago. 




STATtlE OF A KINB— PROM TEMPLE AT NIMEOOD. 

Another day we went to Nimrood, supposed to be another 
palace, but still a part of the great city. It is twenty miles 
south of Mosul. The most prominent object that met our 
eyes as we approached the place was the high, conical 
mound which rose up from one corner of the ruins of the 
13 * 



150 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

palace, which Xenophon saw and described on his famous 
retreat with the ten thousand. This lofty, conical mound 
is supposed to mark the grave of some distinguished mon- 
arch. At Nimrood we do not go underground, as at Ko- 
yunjik, but walk on the surface, and look down into the 
palace halls which have been exposed to sight. These 
walls are wainscoted with marble slabs, bearing figures 
sculj)tured in relief, looking as fresh as if they had come 
from the chisel but yesterday. There were some very fine 
sculptures of men, and lions, and eagles. We spent an hour 
or two strolling among the ruins, picking up here and there 
a fragment of marble, bearing a j)art of an eagle's wing or 
some of the arrow-headed inscriptions. The infidel might 
walk over that vast plain, now the very picture of desolation, 
and tauntingly ask. Where is Nineveh, a city of three days' 
journey, and when and where are any of the monuments 
of its greatness ? and as he stumbles along over the dry and 
arid desert, God, in his wonder-working providences, un- 
covers under his feet her kingly palaces and ten thousand 
insignia of her pomp and glory. How sublime Nahum's 
description of her overthrow ! I returned to my room, and 
read with unspeakable interest the allusions and descriptions 
of the great city written by God's holy prophets. 

Mr. Layard has won a golden name by his great energy 
and perseverance in the prosecution of one of the most 
wonderful discoveries of this or any other age. Mr. Loftus, 
the geologist in Colonel Williams' suite, whose visit to us 
last summer you remember, is now exploring the ruins of 
Babylon. There may be buried treasures there, which may 
throw new light on the history of that famous city and em- 
pire, and add a new testimony to the truth of God's holy 
word. 

After spending about a fortnight at Mosul, on October 
6, 1853, Mr. Williams and the author joined Mr. Coan 



VISITS MOSUL AND THE MOUNTAINS. 151 

and Mr. Ehea, and spent another two weeks in a tour to 
the Nestorian district of Botan, near Jezirah, where labors 
for years afterward were generally carried on by native 
Nestorian missionaries from Persia under the aid and com- 
fort of our Mosul band. As three of us had been together 
in the seminary at New York, the worship of our journey 
revived the days when in New York we had often joined 
in prayer and sung, " My faith looks up to Thee" and other 
sweet songs of Zion. We passed up the Tigris for days in the 
very track of Xenophon and the ten thousand, and where, 
near Jezirah, he debated the routes to the Mediterranean 
and Black Seas, and chose the latter. We too turned north, 
and then, heart and soul, Brother Coan and Brother Rhea 
gave themselves from village to village to the blessed priv- 
ilege of preaching the gospel. Afterward we turned east, 
up the fine valley of the Khabour — our brethren constantly 
preaching — and so on by the crag-perched castle of Teiner 
Bey, to Asheetha. 

One evening at dusk, near the Khabour, an armed 
Koord intercepted us. Our Mosul attendant gave him the 
Moslem salutation. Soon the Koord, discovering that 
Ablahad was a Christian, demanded, "Give me back my 
peace. Give me back my peace," meaning to get back 
whatever was pledged in the prayer, " Peace to you !" He 
then, as we rode on, deliberately leveled his gun at us 
and snapped the lock. It missed fire. I have seen many 
brave deeds, but never one more cool and gravely amusing 
than Mr. Williams then performed. He had not mounted, 
but with bridle in one hand, he raised the butt of his riding- 
whip, and walked rapidly up, shaking it closely before the 
Koord's face, with eyes fixed upon the Koord's eyes, not 
striking, but following him up as he stepped back farther 
and farther, till he had backed him out of the way, and 
thrown him completel}' off" his guard, when suddenly Mr. 



152 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

Williams whirled, mounted and joined our rapidly-moving 
party. A half hour brought us, with darkness, to friendly 
shelter. 

At Asheetha, Mr. Williams and myself, with one attend- 
ant, left our brethren among friendly Nestorians, and I 
doubt if ever in that slower world much better time was 
made than we then made in two days to Mosul. On the 
way we learned incorrectly that war — the Crimean — was 
declared, and that news, added to the usual dangers of the 
way among somewhat unfriendly Koords, did not slacken 
our steps. At one point we were taken for the advance of 
the Russian army. 

From Asheetha, Messrs. Rhea and Coan returned to the 
mountain home in Gawar, with steps somewhat hastened by 
war rumors. They reached Lizan, stopping at the villages 
as they advanced. Thence they passed through the dis- 
tricts of Tiary and T'khoraa. 

"In T'khoma," saj^s Mr. Coan, "we met Mar Shimon 
(the Nestorian patriarch), and had two very pleasant inter- 
views with him. He was surrounded by his great men, 
with decided appearance of state. Mar Shimon and all his 
great company rose when we entered, and we were treated 
with the utmost respect. He was anxious to hear the 
latest war intelligence, which we whispered in his ear for 
his own private benefit, and for which he appeared very 
grateful. He at once determined to winter in Tiary, rather 
than return to Kocharais. We passed two nights and a 
day in T'khoma, and had good opportunities of preaching 
the word. The heavy storm of rain we had in the valley 
was snow on the mountains around. 

"A day brought us from T'khoma to Bass, where we 
passed a very pleasant Sabbath, but found the people be- 
coming infected with the leaven of Papacy, imbibed during 
winter sojourns on the plain of Mosul. One day more took 



VISITS MOSUL AND THE MOUNTAINS. 153 

US to Great Jeloo, where we passed two days pleasantly ; 
and Thursday morning, the 27th of October, we reached 
our dear friends in Memikan, in season to breakfast with 
them. We found all well and expecting us that day ; and 
if we had been an hour later, Brother Crane would have 
been off on another road to meet us. We were none too 
soon in getting over the mountains, for we crossed great 
fields of fresh snow, and our path was drifted full in some 
places, while the snow flew merrily about our ears." 

Extracts from a letter from Mr. Rhea to Dr. Perkins, 
will show the practical bearing of this journey. It was 
written October 27: 

Memikan, Gawae. 

I am happy to announce myself as once more safely at 
home. Our party reached here this morning in time to 
breakfast with Mr. and Mrs. Crane. I am compelled to 
write so hurriedly that I can say but little of our tour. It 
has been to me a most delightful and I trust profitable 
journey. Every step seemed to bring with it new and 
varied interest. The few days we spent with our dear 
friends at Mosul I shall remember as among the most 
pleasant days of my life. They are evidently deeply ab- 
sorbed in their work and bear with fortitude their peculiar 
trials. 

I received a strong impression of a Mosul sun. Our 
brethren use the utmost care in avoiding its power. Abso- 
lute necessity compels them to expend more than they 
would otherwise desire to do in renting and fitting up 
houses where they can in some measure protect themselves 
from the inconceivable heat which they must endure or 
abandon their field. / had the pleasnre of meeting all the 
members of their little chtirch at their homes and conversing 
with them. 

We had a very delightful visit in Botan, in company with 



154 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

Messrs. Marsh and Williams, they going in part to accom- 
pany us, and in part to secure a health retreat during the 
summer months. We spent the Sabbath at Monsooriyeh, 
the extreme southern village of the district, one hour and a 
half west of Jezirah. We visited all the principal villages, 
meeting everywhere a kind reception, and having some 
precious interviews with the people. Our sympathies were 
drawn out in much tenderness toward that remote district ; 
and indeed I may say I went through the mountains every- 
where with a burdened heart, in vain inquiring, ' Who will 
break to these dying souls the bread of life?' I longed to 
stop in each district and cast in my lot with the people. 

Something must be done for Botan, and for all the 
mountain Nestorians on the western side, and that speedily, 
or seed will be sown which will one day bring a harvest of 
tares to be rooted up. 

(Mr. Rhea proceeds with most heartfelt earnestness, 
yearning over them, his soul saying of each. How shall I 
give thee up ?) 

The leaven of the Papacy is at work. Its silent, poison- 
ous influences are spreading slowly but steadily toward the 
heart of the mountain Nestorian country. The tide of 
annual emigration Avhich pours down from all the moun- 
tain districts and comes in contact with the ever-wakeful 
emisaries of Rome, returns more or less infected with the 
poison. I found poor, deluded Papists in Bass and in Jeloo, 
and they are not inactive. 

I know of but one remedy, and that is a station at As- 
heetha, just as soon as the way is opened, even before the 
way is fully prepared for mission families. From that 
point Botan can be well superintended, as well as the vil- 
lages of Araidiah. Is it possible to send two men imme- 
diately to Botan ? Can two men be found who will stand 
fire ? If so, they can do a good work. 



VISITS MOSUL AND THE MOUNTAINS. 155 

He closes his letter, " I hope to be in Oroomiah next 
week." That visit to Oroomiah was full of earnest efforts 
for Botan and the western side of the mountains, and its 
influence was felt in the action of the Oroomiah mission in 
applying for laborers from America, and in the immediate 
sending of two native helpers to Botan, and the opening of 
a train of influences to extend far into the future. 

Mr. Rhea's next letters to Mosul were full of plans for 
the progress of Christ's kingdom on that side of the moun- 
tains among the mountain Nestorians, the " Protestants of 
the East," yet, with all these asjjirations for the greater 
glory of God, he did not forget considerate personal sym- 
pathy. To Mr. Williams he writes, "Let me venture to 
congratulate you upon your safe arrival at home, having 
escaped the bullets and blades of any prowling Koords 
you may have met with in Berwer." To the writer, " We 
thought much of you and Brother Williams after we left 
you — especially during the days you were passing through 
Berwer. I shall wait with much interest to hear of your 
safe return to your homes. I think we shall one day shake 
hands in the beautiful valley of Asheetha. Will you not 
help us to make a plea for help for the mountains ? Having 
just been on the ground, you should have a strong voice in 
the matter." 

After earnest discussion of various mission plans, he 
closes, " My apology, for so long a story is, that I felt you 
would be as much interested as we in the early occupation 
of the mountains. May God keep you in perfect peace, 
your minds stayed on him during these troublous times. 
We and you, I trust, look forward with much interest to 
our labors for the winter. May we long for the coming of 
the Lord, with the power of his Spirit." 



CHAPTER XII. 

MOUNTAIN LIFE WITH ME. CRANE. 

UNDER date of November 15, 1853, Mr. Rhea writes: 
"I returned a few days ago from Oroomiah, having 
provided stores for our long winter. Mr. Crane and ray- 
self will spend the winter here. We should be glad indeed 
if Mrs. Crane and her boy (now with us) could remain. 
Our friends in Oroomiah feel strongly that, for the winter, 
it would be better for Mrs. Crane to return to Oroomiah. 
We hope to see Dr. Wright here in a few days, and then, 
probably, the question will be determined." 

While the reader waits the decision, Dr. Perkins will 
lead us on in pleasant narrative : 

" In the autumn of 1852, Mr. and Mrs. Crane joined the 
mission to reinforce the station in Koordistan. The heart 
of Mr. Crane had long been set on that rough and self- 
denying field. When a little boy in Utica, New York, 
seventeen years before, he had carried the valise of Dr. 
Grant to the canal-boat when that heroic man was setting 
off for the Nestorian mission. This incident was a nail 
fastened in a sure place, which fixed his purpose to follow 
in the footsteps of that devoted missionary. 

" The rough field of his choice was in wide contrast to 
his character. Seldom have we seen a Nathaniel more art- 
less, a more gentle and lovable man. He possessed many 
most amiable traits in common with Mr. Rhea, but, as yet, 
his beautiful, symmetrical character was much less devel- 
oped and expanded. Seldom have missionaries been rau- 

1£6 



MOUNTAIN LIFE WITH ME. CRANE. 157 

tually better adapted to live and labor together in undis- 
turbed harmony. 

" The fliiling health of Mr. Stocking and the necessity of 
his return to America soon led to the recall of Mr. Coan to 
Oroomiah, and the primary responsibility of the arduous 
mountain enterprise devolved on Mr. Rhea, who was now a 
ripe and very able missionary. Most ardently did he and 
his younger associate, Mr. Crane, endure hardness in their 
difficult and self-denying field. 

" A glimpse of that field is well given in a nutshell, in a 
hymn composed by Mr. Rhea (here somewhat revised) on 
his first visit to one of the deepest mountain gorges in 
Koordistan : 

ISHTAZIN. 

Wild leaps a dashing river, 
Whirls boiling, gurgling, roaring. 

With foam and splash for ever, 
Down chasms and gorges rolling. 

From up each side that river, 

Far down in madness wailing, 
Vast mountain cliffs, in grandeur, 

The heights of heaven are scaling. 

God's Koordish ramparts, towering, 

To passing man proclaim — 
His eye and soul o'erpowering — 

The great Creator's name. 

Five towns, like swallows nestling, 
Grip tight the storm-beat margins ; 

Shrub, tree and vine cling, wrestling 
For life, in wind-swept gardens. 

There crumbling, ancient churches, 

On Living Rock once founded, 

Lie desolate ; dark ages 

Since gospel note resounded, 
li 



158 TENNESSEJEAN IN PERSIA. 

Poor blind lead blind, affrighted, 

To ditch and darkness there ; 
Blood-bought men, benighted, 

Are groping to despair. 

How can Christ's flock be gathered, 

If none will guide their way ? 
How long shall they be scattered? 

How long left lost to stray ? 

" Often has the missionary scaled those mountain-heights 
and threaded their deepest gorges to search out the sheep 
of those long-forgotten folds and point them to the Good 
Shepherd. Sometimes he has crept along the steep and 
lofty cliff towering threateningly above him, where whis- 
pers, at particular seasons, must be his only method of com- 
munication, lest the echo of the human voice bring upon 
him an overwhelming avalanche, ever ready, at such sea- 
sons, to quit its bed at the slightest jar. 

"A large part of the journey must be made on foot from 
the exceeding roughness of the country ; and in doing this 
the traveler must often creej) instead of walk, or rather 
make his way by carefully balancing himself; and after a 
few days of such experience I have actually found it dif- 
ficult to stand still and erect on first reaching a level 
region. 

"On the great plain of Gawar, too, journeying in the 
wintry season must be performed on foot, from the great 
depth of the snow, which is exceedingly laborious, except 
for a short time in spring, when the frozen crust bears the 
pedestrian. 

" Mr. Rhea's labors in the mountains were, however, by no 
means simply itinerary. At his station, the village of 
Memikan, he usually superintended a school, doing much 
of the teaching himself. The pupils were promising young 
men and boys gathered from different parts of the mountain 



MOUNTAIN LIFE WITH ME. CRANE. 159 

field. They there received very valuable training and deep 
and lasting religious impressions, as we are now often re- 
minded when individuals of their number join our semi- 
nary at Oroomiah, and gospel seed sown in Gawar springs 
up here and bears precious fruit. Such pupils never tire 
in their expressions of admiration of their Gawar teacher 
and guide. 

" When thus occupied at his station, Mr. Rhea uniformly 
visited on the Sabbath several villages on the great plain 
of Gawar — two, three or even four in a day — some of them 
ten or more miles distant, where he preached to the simple 
villagers in their humble churches and dwellings or under 
the shadow of a wall." 

It was decided in December that Mr. Crane should ac- 
company Mrs. Crane to Oroomiah, and leave her there with 
her sister band of missionary ladies whilst he returned to 
Gawar. 

It was no doubt wise. The great Crimean war was 
lowering portentously, and clouds overhung these Koordish 
mountains. The modir had sent them soldiers professedly 
to guard them, who were spies, demanding food and room 
and attendance, like soldiers billeted in war. Owing to 
their presence in the delightful summer-time, when tent-life 
is in some respects delicious, Mrs. Crane had found it wise 
to retire from tent-life to the greater privacy and security 
of the dreary house. In November, Karaman Agha offered 
to bring down an armed force and camp by them all winter. 
Such a proposal indicated an excited state of the public 
mind. The field was not abandoned, but the husband felt 
safer with his wife in Persia, across the border. 

Thus the two brethren were left alone with their work, 
but not without presence of feeble native friends and an 
Almighty Helper. In January a strict quarantine was es- 
tablished on the Persian frontier, with design to prevent any 



160 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA, 

Persian spies in the interest of Russia from penetrating the 
Turkish Empire. This new obstacle, where everything is 
ordinarily aggravatingly tedious in travel and interchange 
of thought by post or messenger, proved a serious hin- 
drance. Their missionary work could not possibly avoid 
some suspicion of a secret political end. 

A letter written to me on the 25th of that January has 
not a word of war or politics. Extracts will show what 
was both deepest and also broadest and constantly upper- 
most in Mr. Rhea's thoughts : 

" My dear brother, I am happy in being able to renew 
a correspondence which has ever been delightful and pro- 
fitable to me. Our sympathies were tenderly enlisted for 
the dear doctor when we heard of his illness. We are now 
in the midst of our winter, confined. Occasionally, with 
difficulty, we are able to visit a neighboring village. 
The villages, as you know, are few and scattered, with 
little communication, the people keeping closely housed ; 
and after the storm, when the paths become somewhat trod- 
den, we find it very tiresome to plod in them any great dis- 
tance, they are so rough. A few days ago I went to 
Kerpil, an Armenian village, two hours' distant, to see a 
sick man, also to visit two or three nearer Nestorian vil- 
lages. In Kerpil fifty persons gathered in, to whom we 
preached a free salvation, through the life and death of 
Jesus only — a salvation which no man can buy with fasts 
and alms. The doctrine was novel, but they received it 
and pronounced it good. We met a kind reception in the 
Nestorian village where we spent the night, conversing un- 
til a late hour about the great things of the eternal world. 
Over this plain, here and there, is an individual, thought- 
ful, earnest, inquiring, feeling after the truth, yearning for 
life in Christ Jesus. The old religion does not and cannot 
meet the felt craving. The new sounds strange, and yet 



MOUNTAIN LIFE WITH ME. CRANE. 161 

carries with it in its appeals tlie couscience and the intel- 
lect. They know it is true; they tremble at the conse- 
quence of fearlessly espousing and openly embracing it. 

" Your new house — may it be a holy house, and all who 
come in and go out feel its sanctifying influence. I have 
been thinking recently of those passages : ' Be ye filled 
with the Spirit,' ' Walk in the Spirit ;' and have asked my- 
self. Ought not faith to lay hold of God's promise, and be- 
lieve that it is a privilege, a really attainahle tiling, to be 
habitually full of faith and the Holy Ghost, as Paul and 
Barnabas were ? There are some passages which I fear I 
do not understand experimentally : " the unction of the 
Holy One,' ' that ye may be filled with all the fullness of 
God.' What do these mean ?" 

In February, Mr. Rhea gives a piercing picture of the 
snow and the cold ; it makes one think of Keat's " limping 
hare and owl chilled in all his feathers." He tells of snow 
drifted fifteen feet deep — mercury gone down to 26° below 
zero (Fahrenheit), and of a terrible wind which the villagers 
said was unexampled in fierceness. He says in a letter 
to me, dated Gawar, February 23, 1854 : " For the last 
twenty days we have had an almost incessant tempest, and 
with it heavy falls of snow and rain. This month has 
given me a much stronger impression of the inhospitality 
of our climate, and I can tell you, sir, it is no ordinary wind 
that sweeps down the gorge from Old Jeloo. It is a wind 
that makes a man wrestle hard for his breath, and cuts him 
right up with its keen, icy blades, and sends him home 
penitent enough for having made the encounter. 

" We make it a point to keep pretty closely' housed at 
such times. Now and then. Brother Crane, to give the 
natives an idea of Yankee pluck, will get on a pair of 
Gawar snow-shoes, circular in shape, about a foot in diame- 
ter, made of twigs twisted and platted together, in the cen- 
14 * L 



162 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

tre of which the foot is placed and bound fast with thongs, 
and plunges around among the snow-drifts. 

"We are now completely blockaded with bulwarks of 
snow. As we look up out of our window we are able to 
bring into the field of vision about a square yard of the 
heavens, and we are grateful for even so much of the clear 
blue sky. For several days the snow was heaped so high 
above us that in going out of our door we ascended seven 
steps to get out on the level of the drift. The poor villagers 
fare hard enough, having to water all their animals in their 
stables, by carrying water some distance day after day." 

Mr. Crane succeeded in reaching Oroomiah on foot, thus 
leaving Mr. Rhea for four weeks with no American or 
European in a little Gawar village. He held on. 

Hearing that his former beloved associate was very sick, 
Mr. Rhea sent a remarkable letter, revealing the workings 
of his own soul : 

Memikan, February 11, 1854. 

My Dear Brother Coan : My heart has been sad all 
day in thinking that you are sick. Such tidings were as 
unexpected as painful. Would that I were with you. I 
know I could relieve Mrs. Coan — ^perhaps I could comfort 
you. I have been sick alone, and my heart goes out in 
yearning toward those who are afflicted, and especially a 
brother beloved, with whom I have spent many, many 
happy days, never to be forgotten. Some of the darkest 
days I ever passed through were on a sick bed. The darts 
of the adversary, tipped in his own fire, fell thick and fast 
upon me. I cried out in the bitterness of my heart, ' All 
thy waves and billows have gone over me.' In that dark 
hour memory and conscience and remorse were busy, and 
as the sins of past years rose up around me, under the 
temptations of the adversary, I was brought to the verge of 
despair. He said, Your sins are peculiar — too great to be 



MOUNTAIN LIFE WITH MR. CEANE. 163 

forgiven ; and I, for a time, believed it ; no, I did not be- 
lieve it, but I could not disprove it. In the general pro- 
mises of mercy I found no relief. I found at length much 
comfort as I read Kev. xii. 10, 11, and Isaiah 1. 10, where- 
in I found strength to use the shield of faith and the sword 
of the Spirit, which is God's holy word. Then the enemy 
left me. 

Oh how blessed are all God's dispensations ! If he 
will only sanctify us, let him choose the means ; if the 
body of this death might only be slain, though it be by a 
long and painful crucifixion ! if we might only find coin- 
plete deliverance, though it be through a process most hu- 
miliating to pride and selfishness ! 

February 28. — I have just returned from a pleasant 
excursion with Tamo among some of our villages for the 
last three days. During the whole time, though we met 
with different classes of men, from the bishop's brother to 
the poorest peasant, and under very different circumstances, 
now marriage and next funeral, and though we endeavored 
to declare the whole counsel of God in its special adapta- 
tion to the people we met, still we did not hear a whisper 
of opposition ; but, so far as kind treatment is evidence, we 
had it most abundantly that we were welcome. 

Tamo seemed to be in fine spirits and in a very good 
mood for preaching. I never went out with the deacon 
that he did not on his return express his great enjoyment 
in such labors, however hard it may have been to get him 
started; for, when asked to go out to preach, though he 
assents, you feel it is not with heartiness. This morning, 
as we left Pirzalan, after we had preached for an hour to a 
crowded dekana, he said, " How pleasant it is thus to meet 
the people !" " How well the people listened !" and " How 
much encouragement we have to hope that there will be a 
great awakening in Gawar before a great while !" 



164 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

Yes ; I never felt at any time more the preciousness of 
the privilege of inviting dying men to the life-giving cross. 

In March he tells us that the faithful Mosul messenger, 
after vain attempts to get through the utterly impassable 
mountain snows, returned on the eighteenth day with ac- 
count of numerous avalanches down the mountains, crush- 
ing many bridges and suspending communication. The 
same was to a degree true between Gawar and Oroomiah, 
so that, on March 22, Mr. Rhea records that he has been 
four weeks without hearing any word from any missionary 
friend or the great world outside the heart of Koordistan. 
But God was with him. His soul prospered. He speaks 
of there being no opposition ; of Deacon Tamo as busy ; of 
prospect of winning over Priest Guergis and his village 
to the truth. He anticipates a crust on the snow which 
will allow him to welcome Mr. Crane's return. He alludes 
to the political skies as growing darker and darker, and 
the question at times comes up, "Is-it safe to be in Gawar?" 
But he trusts in God. On March 29 we find that Mr. 
Crane has succeeded in walking back, and reports a blessed 
revival in Oroomiah. All effort to exclude them from Ga- 
war seems to have died away ; although^ from a distance, 
the brother of the patriarch writes letters encouraging oppo- 
sition. Early in May Mr. Rhea visits Oroomiah, after an 
absence from those friends, only some eighty miles away, 
of six months. What a joyful meeting ! Words will not 
describe it. 

Among the Koordish chiefs he had some warm friends. 
Mr. Rhea was always kind and polite to such chiefs, giving 
them coflTee, and he was also faithful. He says: "We 
preached to them righteousness, temperance and a judg- 
ment to come." But now, for a time, nearly five weeks, he 
enjoyed the rest of comparatively polished Persia, and the 
society of the families of dear missionary friends. 



MOUNTAIN LIFE WITH ME. CRANE. 167 

Mr. Rhea returned to Gawar in company with Mr. and 
Mrs. Crane. Of this journey he writes : " We wound slowly 
over the hills, myriads of mountain flowers springing up 
along our path. We often turned to drink in the beauties 
of the plain and lake and mountains behind us. Having 
traveled eight hours and a half, our muleteers just as accom- 
modating as could be, we pitched our tent on a grassy 
plot near a river, which went roaring by us all night. 

" Occasionally, as on Wednesday, it was necessary for Mrs. 
Crane to mount her horse. The takterewan (a sedan chair 
borne by horses) made two or three narrow escapes from 
rolling down into the river, owing to the ignorance and 
carelessness of the Koords. They went blundering and 
staring along, apparently perfectly reckless as to their 
horses. We had to keep constantly near the takterewan, 
and frequently one of us rode on to reconnoitre. We crossed 
over a large snow-bank near the mountain pass. We in- 
tended to spend the night at Mero's castle, but when we 
halted, a man from the castle roof called out, forbidding us 
to pitch our tent, saying that it was meadow ground. We 
rode about nine hours and a half. Mero expressed great 
regret when he learned we had passed on. 

"We made a short call on the modir at Dizza, and 
learned that the Neela was not fordable at Vazerawa, but 
that the ford was good at Pirzalan. For more than half 
the distance to Pirzalan we waded through water, much of 
the way two feet deep. Then we took a guide, who told us 
that it was perfectly dry till we reached the river. This 
was true, but we had no idea that we should reach the river so 
soon. It had spread over a large part of the plain this side 
of Pirzalan, and for hundreds of yards we were crossing 
over a marsh covered with water two and three feet deep. 
Our animals sank terribly in the mire, and for a time we 
despaired of ever getting our loads and takterewan over. 



168 tennesseEan in peesia.* 

Mrs. Crane, of course, was on horseback. One of the horses 
sank down with his load, but finally recovered. Once the 
takterewan horses both stuck fast, and for a long time 
they struggled with their burden, still, however, keeping it 
above water, and at last bringing it out safe. Again Sheik- 
hoo, who had little Morris Crane in his arms, went down 
so deep that only his horse's head and shoulders appeared' 
above the water. He meantime had managed to get off 
safely into the water, and the rest of the way carried the 
little boy out in his arms. 

"You may imagine our feelings of joy and gratitude as we 
saw Our last load safely emerging from this slough of de- 
spond, and our Koords smiling with imperturbable good 
humor; and often exclaiming, 'Kanja, Kanja!' At this 
point I put whip for Memikan, met a hearty greeting, and 
had the fleas cleared out before the party arrived. For 
two days I have had a ' clearing-up time.' " 

During this month of June the Turks had scarcely a 
shadow of authority in the mountains. The native Nes- 
torian missionaries to Botan on the Tigris, upon their return 
to Oroomiah, were robbed between Gawar and Oroomiah. 
The Sultan was still calling for Koordish troops. The 
Koords were disturbed, and some in rebellion. Several of 
the rebel chiefs called upon Mr. Khea, and were very free 
in abuse of the Turks and prayed for their defeat. He ad- 
vised them that some power outside of Koordistan would 
surely always hold the mountains ; and then he preached, 
" Repent ye," concluding with the thought that God would 
do with the Empire as he pleased. Ishmael Agha took off 
his turban and uttered a devout Imshallah (may it please 
God) that he give it to the English. 

At that time the English consul in Tabreez was aston- 
ished that they should ventui'e still to hold on to their dan- 
gerous post in Gawar. But in July they enjoyed the rare 



MOUNTAIIsr LIFE WITH ME. CRANE. 169 

treat of seeing Mr. Cochran, of Oroomiah, with his wife and 
four charming little girls, making them a most welcome 
visit. All Orientals are charmed with children, and the 
novel sight of four little American girls under the crest of 
Jeloo touched many a wild Koord's heart with that quick 
and generous .sympathy which often wells up from the 
breasts of the most rugged of men. 

The little Americo-Persians came and went in perfect 
safety. But Callash, the Mosul messenger from Gawar, 
was again robbed, as he had been in the winter, and this 
time was stripped. 

August 18, Mr. Ehea commences a letter to the writer 
by an extract from holy Bishop Leighton on the death of 
an infant, a soothing strain to sorrowing hearts, and closes 
the same letter with the picture of Koords, in large parties 
of horse, passing over the plain in retreat, spreading the 
wild alarm of war, Bayazeed taken, Kars soon to fall, the 
great Russian army pouring on, and perhaps the Russian 
flag soon not only (as it did) to fly over Kars, but even 
over all the mountains. 

Such were the wild scenes in which the banner of Christ's 
gospel love was kept flying and his gracious call sounding 
to Turk, Nestorian, Armenian and Koord in Gawar. 
Hearts were in the work. 

From Salmas, in Persia, Mr. Rhea writes, under date of 
September 29, 1854, to his father : 

I am seated in the churchyard of an Armenian church 
in the old town of Salmas, two days' journey from Oroo- 
miah. Since my arrival in Persia I have lost some of my 
dearest friends, among them my dear, dear aunt, who nur- 
tured me and loved me with such tenderness. Though 
many months have come and gone since the tidings of her 
death reached me, still the wounds of my heart are not 
healed. They flow afresh as I think of her devoted affec- 

15 



170 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

tion. I never think of her without tears. Oh, how pre- 
cious to me her precious memory ! She was more like the 
Lord Jesus than any person I ever knew. Her life, how 
beautiful ! It ever was in love, in meekness, in prayerful- 
ness, and in all the sweet graces of the Divine Spirit. When 
I begin to speak or write of that dear aunt I forget myself. 
No words of mine can express the devoted esteem and affec- 
tion I cherish for her. 

My errand to Bashkollah is a sad one. But before tell- 
ing you what it is, I have tidings still more sad to tell you. 
My dear associate, Brother Crane, has been taken from me. 
On Sabbath morning, August 27, he sweetly fell asleep in 
Jesus, and went immediately into his blissful presence, to 
be a holy, happy and blessed man for ever. On August 17 
we rode over to Dizza together to see the governor, who was 
dangerously ill. In the evening Brother Crane complained 
of acute pains in the head ; this continued for two days, and 
then passed away. But on Wednesday, August 23, his 
fever had increased ; he seemed prostrated and decidedly 
worse, and sent for Dr. Wright. That day he took his bed, 
and his disease, typhus fever, made rapid strides. Mrs. 
Crane was with us. On Saturday evening we were much 
relieved by the prompt arrival of Dr. Wright from Oroo- 
miah ; but it was too late — the disease had done its dreadful 
work. That night I watched by his bed, but he was deliri- 
ous all night long. In the morning he seemed to be sink- 
ing, and at half-past seven he most gently rested his head 
on the bosom of Jesus, and breathed his life out sweetly 
there. I never saw a death more calm and peaceful. For 
him we cannot weep, but for ourselves we cannot help weep- 
ing, for we feel that the hand of God, in his removal, rests 
very heavily and very sorely upon us. He was my brother 
— my intimate friend — my beloved associate. With him I 
preached and prayed and took sweet counsel ; with him I 



MOUNTAIN LIFE WITH MR. CRANE. 171 

ate and drank and took all my recreations; with him I com- 
muned in Christian intercourse and fellowship. We leaned 
upon each other ; we cheered and comforted each other in 
all the dark days through which we were called to pass to- 
gether ; and do you wonder that I feel bereft ? Pray for 
me, that in this the darkest hour my faith fail not. We 
buried our dear brother on Monday, in the little graveyard 
to the east of the village church. 

But you are waiting to know our errand to Bashkollah. 
On last Saturday night a messenger arrived from Gawar, 
bringing the sad news that Tamo had been arrested by five 
soldiers while going to a neighboring village, carried to 
Dizza, and there charged again by the modir with the mur- 
der of the Turkish soldier. Six hundred and twenty tomans 
(twelve hundred and forty dollars) were demanded as the 
only condition of his release, and he was sent as a prisoner 
to Bashkollah. We immediately forwarded a messenger 
post-haste to Tabreez, to Mr. Stevens, H. B. M. consul, for 
letters to the pasha at Bashkollah. These we received, and 
are now on our way to secure, if possible, the poor prison- 
er's release. 

Memikan, Oct. 12. 

When we reached Bashkollah, we found, much to our 
surprise, that Tamo had been released. We had an inter- 
view with the pasha, but could learn of him nothing more 
than that Tamo had been charged with forcing some Koords 
to work for him without pay in building a house. He said 
he reproved him for it and sent him home. We knew that 
Tamo's seizure was the work of his enemies, and that it was 
effected by false and foul charges ; and we took occasion to 
give the pasha a brief history of all that had taken place 
since our coming to reside in Koordistan. He professed 
entire ignorance of everything that had taken place — even 
Tamo's long imprisonment. When we reached here we 



172 



TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 



learned that the modir, instigated by the bishop and two 
or three others, had actually made out charges against Ta- 
mo, that he had built a house this summer by compelling 
the villagers around to furnish him workmen ; and upon 
the strength of this charge the pasha sent and had Tamo 
arrested. 




u: T^ht: 








AN ARAB SHEIE, 



The pasha kept Tamo a prisoner five days, making him 
work in the day-time, and at night hanging a heavy chain 
about his neck. A noted sheik, residing near Bashkollah, 



MOUNTAIN LIFE WITH ME. CRANE. 173 

and Meero Bey, a famous old Koordish chief, interceded 
with the pasha in behalf of the prisoner. But we incline 
to think Tamo's own defence, stating, as he did, his rela- 
tions to us, and asserting his innocence, had more influence 
on the pasha's mind than the interference of the friends 
who espoused his cause. 

I am now alone. The country is in a disturbed state. 
One of the most noted of the old Koordish chiefs is in rebel- 
lion against the government. Large parties of Koordish 
horsemen, in the employ of the government, passed our vil- 
lage last evening and to-day, going toward Kharnatha, the 
village of the rebel chief, to intercept his flight into the 
mountains. These are troublous times, but our God is with 
us, and it brings complete relief to confide all unhesitatingly 
to him ; for he has said that he shall be kept in perfect peace 
whose mind is stayed on him, and I know he will do it. 

October 18. — The pasha has come. Order and quiet pre- 
vail. The rebel submits. I called on the pasha yesterday. 

Mr. Rhea accompanied Mrs. Crane to Oroomiah. She 
was destined to a second bereavement in the death of her 
first-born and only child, a fine little boy, more than a year 
old, at a Koordish encampment where the missionary party 
halted for the night. Even the savage Koords were touched 
with sympathy, and tried to hush to silence their wild shep- 
herd dogs on learning that the little one was in a dying 
state. Though thus doubly bereaved, the widowed Chris- 
tian found support in her God. 

Mr. Rhea soon wrote to me from Gawar, October 18, 
1854: "I reached here from Bashkollah two weeks ago 
yesterday. The next morning Mr. Breath went to Oroo- 
miah. Very sad feelings filled my heart for several days 
after I was left here alone, as I walked through our deserted 
rooms, visited the grave of my dear Brother Crane, and as 
16«- 



174 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

everytliing around me recalled the pleasant scenes of the 
last two years, and reminded me painfully of my sad loss. 

" But I have not been alone. Jesus has been with me 
and has been teaching me some of the simplest lessons of 
faith and filial confidence. Oh, how we should prize and 
be grateful for that holy discipline, be it what it may, 
which only brings us nearer to him, which teaches us what 
it is to believe, to commit all without solicitude and in 
cheerful confidence into the hands of Him who has said : 
' Lo, I am with you always !' Faith is the highest and 
most blessed form of knowledge; but how often doubts 
mingle with our faith and make it powerless! In true faith, 
especially with reference to God's promises, there is not the 
shadow of a doubt, and thus it amounts to absolute know- 
ledge. When truly exercised it must bring into the soul 
that calm, sweet peace which passeth all understanding. 
O Lord, increase our faith V 

Thus we close in Mr. Rhea's experience a chapter of bit- 
terness. The sweetness of its bitter flavored all his future 
life. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

MAEEIAGE — THE SACRED UNION. 

BEFORE leaving America Mr, Rhea had chosen single 
life, in full belief that thus he could most glorify God. 
He had a most refined and tender regard for all true women. 
He was not insensible to their charms ; yet was not then, as 
afterward, fully aware of the height and breadth and depth 
of woman's most unselfish devotion, both to the husband 
and children, to whom she gladly gives her life, and to the 
humblest for whom Christ her Saviour died. He wrote to 
me at Mosul, two years and a half before this time : " Be- 
cause I might prefer to spend the first years of my mis- 
sionary life, and probably all of them, unmarried," etc. He 
had not then seen Miss Harris. The wi'iter may of her very 
confidently say with Wordsworth : 

" I saw her upon nearer view, 
A spirit, yet a woman too ! 
Her household motions light and free. 
And steps of virgin liberty ; 
A countenance in which did meet 
Sweet records — promises as sweet ; 
A creature, not too bright or good 
For human nature's daily food. 
A perfect woman, nobly planned. 
To warn, to comfort and command 
And yet a spirit still, and bright 
With something of an angel light." 

Deaths of tender women for Christ's sake are often 

175 



176 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

charged as sin by those who bring no such charge against 
deaths of young men upon ten thousand battle-fields, not 
always for Christ's sake. For Christ some would even dare 
to die, and our Bible does not read, " we men," but " ive 
ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." It is idle to 
forbid. As long as there are sinners to die for, tender and 
delicate women will live and die for Christ. 

But Mr. Rhea need no longer discuss the wisdom of in- 
viting the gentle and refined to such trials. God had led 
forth to Persia one every way worthy of him. 

"Mr. Rhea was now the sole occupant of the remote mis- 
sion station in Koordistan," says Dr. Perkins, "but the 
Lord had provided for him a most estimable help-meet, 
Miss Martha Ann Harris, a congenial spirit, every way 
worthy of his heart and his hand, who had been two years 
at Oroomiah as the teacher of the children of our mission, 
in which sphere she greatly excelled, and had early won 
the hearts of all her pupils and their parents. They were 
married at Mount Seir (October 31, 1854), and in a few 
days went to their lonely and self-denying home in Koord- 
istan." 

Many letters written to her shortly before his marriage 
lie before me. I extract a few pictures, as much to give the 
eye and heart of Mr. Rhea as the scenes described : 

" July 28. — Brother Cochran and myself have just re- 
turned from Ishtazin. Left early, reached the valley by 
ten. All the people had gone to their pasture-grounds. 
After resting we went up to make them a visit. Our road 
much of the way was charming, shaded often by the wal- 
nut, the oak and mulberry. As we slowly wound up the 
mountain the evening breeze wafted the fragrance of moun- 
tain flowers and herbs familiar and homelike. We enjoyed 
much the prospect of the valley ; gladlj^ turned our mules 
and for a few moments feasted our eyes upon the mountain 



MAEEIAGE. 177 

forests in deep green foliage, the little fields of golden grain, 
and silvery streams peeping out from among them ; and 
above all those hoary pyramids rising in lofty, solemn gran- 
deur. Crossing the pass, we were soon at the town. I 
counted in all seventy of the little huts which form the 
summer residences of the people of Ishtazin. They arc 
built of stone, some five feet high, circular in shape, and 
sticks are placed to form roofs like a dome, closely covered 
over with grass, making a cool and pleasant shade. In 
front of each hut is a little enclosure which serves as a yard. 
Within this little compass all the domestic affairs are at- 
tended to. How simple and how rude this summer life ! 
In the hut where we stopped I counted some fifteen or 
twenty earthen vessels of various sizes, several bags of 
cheese were in process of making, large pots of milk were 
boiling, a tray filled with fresh corn hoe-cakes, a lamb just 
slaughtered and hung overhead. This was all that was to 
be seen in the summer-house of a mountain Nestorian, the 
hut of the first family in Jeloo. 

These high pasture-grounds are the Saratogas of Koord- 
istan. Here all classes repair during the summer heat for 
health and recreation. They gladly welcome the return of 
the season when they may leave their hot ravines and climb 
up to the green slopes of the mountains, breathe the fine 
bracing air and drink the cold snow-water. We spent a 
very happy evening. Forty of the chief men of Jeloo gath- 
ered around us evening and morning, and listened most at- 
tentively. I never more enjoyed holding up Christ as the 
only Saviour of poor lost sinners — a salvation for all, with- 
out money and without price. We endeavored to be as 
faithful and pointed as possible in showing the hoUowness 
of those hopes on which we knew they were resting. 

We descended " a wild ravine below Barbarra. After 
winding down the bank of the foam-dashing river, the road 

M 



178 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

sometimes cut out of the cliff hanging over it two or three 
hundred feet, we suddenly turn to the right, and find our- 
selves in a narrow defile ten yards wide and walled in by 
perpendicular rocks several hundred feet in height. This 
defile is two miles in length and is on the highway to Jeloo 
and Bass. It was quite dark when we returned weary to 
Mar Ogloo's house, but not too weary to point the little 
company who had gathered round us to the Lamb of God." 
Again in August, he writes : "Another day has flown 
— so we say — ^but where has it gone ? We speak as if it 
had fled, but it has done its work, and is now become a 
component part of an eternal existence. It has gone up to, 
the great white throne and opened the books, and, with an 
iron pen, written its record. Oh how solemn is life ! and 
how strange too ! May it be our highest aim to live in 
sight of God, and the cross, and the judgment, and the ISTew 
Jerusalem, and the everburning lake, and eternity. Then 
life would be true and earnest and divine. A life true to 
God, true to our fellow-men, and to the high behests of con- 
science, and to all the divinely inspired and noble feelings 
of the heart — ^how beautiful ! how sublime ! how powerful ! 
Such an one need not go out of himself for sympathy and 
support. I say out of himself, for I suppose God to be 
within him, dwelling in the innermost temple of his soul. 
Do you need sympathy, or can you live without it? I know 
full well you appreciate it, but does it add much to your 
quiet and satisfaction of mind to know, in any important 
step you have taken, that you have the sympathy and ap- 
proval of others ? or, having taken that step in the fear of 
God, and with a distinct reference to his glory, do you in 
that consciousness find complete rest, and feel indifferent as 
to the opinion of others ? Oh it is a great thing to live 
among men and yet above them — to be ever pouring forth 
fresh tides of sympathy, but ever drawing from a fountain 



MARRIAGE. 179 

deep within — even God in all the fullness and blessedness 
of his perfections. 

Augtist 4. — I have just returned from our evening ser- 
vice. We seldom have fewer than five or six strangers 
present, and often twenty. I felt, as I went to deliver the 
message God gave me, that I must deliver it, feeling that 
perhaps at that very hour it would be sealed to the awaken- 
ing and conversion of some soul. When I returned to my 
room, I found myself sitting down to pen a line to you, for- 
getting that something all-important had been left undone, 
i. e., commending the truth spoken and those who heard it 
to God, earnestly imploring his Spirit this night to wield 
the sword of Divine truth to pierce the hard heart. Oh, 
what a blessing to get rid of formalism ! this doing God's 
service mechanically and professionally ! 

August 6. — This morning my heart was heavily burdened 
for poor, perishing souls. The bishop, Mar Eshoo, was at 
our table, and in depicting to him the piteous condition of 
these poor wandering sheep, and pressing upon him his re- 
sponsibility, my own sympathies were very tenderly drawn 
out ; my heart bled ; I felt the almost crushing weight of 
responsibility. 

This morning there were sixty present at our service, 
and during some parts of the discourse more than ordinary 
feeling. 

In the many precious opportunities we have of meeting 
the people .this summer so frequently and in such large 
numbers, our hearts are greatly cheered and comforted. 

This evening ten persons from Jeloo were present. While 
Deacon Tamo was preaching, he asked an old man with 
snowy beard, " Do you know what it is to be born again ?" 
He said, "No ; I know nothing about it." After Tamo ex- 
plained to him in simple manner, he said, " Now I under- 
stand it ; but we are all going to hell. There is no hope 



180 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

for us !" How favored I am to he permitted to live in these 
dark lands ! Of all men I ought to he the happiest, thus to 
have the privilege of breaking the bread of life to those 
who otherwise would certainly die in their sins ! 

August 15. — I have just attended a prayer-meeting with 
the native brethren, and found it very refreshing to my 
spirit. The thought presented was, every man a brother, 
be his character what it may. I find that it is only when 
I think of these poor men about me as my brothers, and 
these poor women as my sisters, that I can at all approach 
to that love and sympathy for them and that readiness to 
lay down my life for them, for which I earnestly long. It 
is written, "Covet earnestly the best gifts," and I think 
this is one of the very choicest of all ; I do long for 
it. To be successful I must have it. It is the very soul 
and life of the missionary spirit. What is all our brother- 
ing and sistering if there is no heart-work about it ? It is 
a sham. How beautiful is simple truth, an inward life of 
feeling and sympathy corresponding with all our outward 
expressions ! I want no man to " brother" me with his lips 
who does not do it in his life, and I will try to do the same. 
" Brother" belongs to the race. How easy to speak it ; how 
hard to act it out! A class-leader once said, "Brother 
Jones, you are a liar !" 

You have a large share of the gentle, genial sympathies 
of our nature, and to these gentle sympathies I commit my 
poor people, and I charge you rebuke in me for their sakes 
the first risings of an unkind, uncharitable, censorious 
spirit. When abused, when ridiculed, when reproached, 
these poor people shall look to us, their sympathizing ad- 
vocates, and we will put the best construction truth will 
justify, and with the mantle of charity cover all their 
imperfections. 

Tuesday, August 29. — Oh, through what scenes have we 



MAERIAGE. 181 

passed! Before this the sad intelligence has reached 
Oroomiah, and you weep with us. I say sad — not sad for 
our dear brother (Mr. Crane), who we believe has been 
these two days in the immediate presence and blessed 
society of our Lord Jesus, but sad for our stricken sister. 
It is sad to me. I think it is the heaviest stroke by far that 
ever fell upon me. 

... I must not conceal the fact that some of the hap- 
piest hours I ever enjoyed I have spent during these days 
of my loneliness. I have been able to confide all in the 
hands of our dear Lord Jesus, to believe his precious pro- 
mises ; and I have at all times enjoyed great peace. I can- 
not now tell you all I have felt and all I have enjoyed. I 
fear lest my heart should be led to turn too much in upon 
itself, and thus lose its sight of the Lord ; I have given 
myself to him. The consecration has been entire. I have 
given my own will and my own private preferences. I am 
then to live in a waiting posture ; simply to know the will 
of the Father. Each returning hour and moment brings 
the events of his providence, and in those events we shall 
know his will concerning us. 

On his way to rescue Tamo, at Khosrawa, in Persia, Sep- 
tember 28, 1854, he saw one who had talked in person with 
Henry Martyn (that name so precious in all the churches) : 
" We went over to Khosrawa yesterday afternoon. Visited 
Mar Zaiya. I was struck with the European cast of his 
countenance and his intelligence. He had just returned 
from Tabreez. I inquired about Henry Martyn, and we 
were highly entertained with his account of the visit Mr. 
Martyn made him. He was with him some six days, talked 
Latin and visited the antiquities in this region. He spoke 
of him as very learned and a charming man ; and when he 
told how he talked Latin the old man could hardly contain 
himself. He spoke also of a visit he had from Wolfe, 

16 



182 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

but added; 'Wolfe, chin, chin, Shedana' (Wolfe has no 
sense)." 

While at Oola, he gives the following faithful picture of 
his quarters. Oriental travelers can sympathize with him : 
" Perhaps you would like to know just how we are situated 
here. The room is very large, high and airy. One corner 
is spread with felts. This we occupy. A huge flour-bin 
stands in another. In a third, a stack of beds, and in the 
centre is our baggage. Still the great room seems to beg 
for something more to relieve its airy emptiness. We have 
any quantity of cats and chickens around, who seem to be 
perfectly at home. At very early dawn a famous old herald 
of the day rises from one corner not far from our beds, flaps 
his wings and goes ofi" in a strain anything but melodious. 
This he repeats from time to time, until he has convinced us 
that it is certainly daylight, and time to rise." 

Mr. Rhea gives the following description of his building 
experience in Gawar, not unlike that of Layard in his diffi- 
culties with the Arabs at Nineveh : 

My building affords me almost endless amusement as well 
as annoyance. Think of a Yankee undertaking to work 
half a dozen lazy, good-for-nothing Koords. Poor crea- 
tures, they are still immortal men — who have only learned 
well how to light and smoke a pipe. 

I wake up early — call for the head mason — Oshana, 
where are your men? Not come. Sun an hour high — 
send for them — they come, dragging their sluggish limbs 
along — then follows a quarrel about wages. Sun gets two 
hours high. At last fairly at work, at least going through 
the motions. Next morning, no Koords ! Send for them — 
won't come or must have more wages. The head mason, 
Oshana, an expensive man on my hands — sinking money 
fast. We must have workmen, so we bargain to give them 
their food. We get started again — eight lusty Koords — 



MARRIAGE. 183 

one gone to the spi'ing for water, stays an liour — another 
is picking in the ground with a would-be mattock that 
makes one nervous to look at — another, pretending to dig, 
is down on his knees and for a few moments he tears up the 
earth tremendously — and looking around with infinite self- 
complacency — he most audaciously and coolly sits down to 
smoke ! Another brings stone from a distance of ten steps, 
slowly plodding along, his hands behind him supporting 
the stone on his back ; reaching the place he tosses it off, 
and then stands five minutes apparently in mute astonish- 
ment at his herculean efforts. 

Oshana, the mason, having never v/orked Koords be- 
fore, is all in a stew — calling to this one " Hurra" (go,) and 
to that one " Weria" (come,) which is about the extent of 
his Koordish vocabulary, and it were almost as well if he 
had not that — for at first he gave the rogues the impres- 
sion that he knew more, until he began to scold and found 
himself brought to a stand, the butt of their rude jokes and 
ridicule. So things go, at least so it was at first ; but we 
are getting them " broke in." 

This afternoon one of the sly fellows came to my room 
at nearly sundown, and as a special favor asked permission 
to go to another village. In a few moments he returned 
and asksd for his wages. I sent him to Oshana, who pays 
them. This he knew very well ; and at the very time he 
was asking me he was holding and rubbing between his 
fingers the keran which Oshana had just before given him 
for his work ! 

It is amusing to see Oshana distribute their wages at 
evening. He stands off some distance, and with a conse- 
quential air and miserably-broken Koordish, reckons with 
them and tosses each a keran. Each examines his piece 
most carefully, probably the first that some of them had 
ever received, and if it is a little sniooth, of course it won't 



184 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

go, and back he tosses it to Osliana, and then a chatter. 
But this is no sooner adjusted than another finds himself 
in possession of a recently-coined piece, and it shines so 
brightly that he thinks it must be lead, and then down it 
goes at Oshana's feet, and then another jabbering ! Oshana, 
with broken tongue, somehow generally comes off victor. 
This is the way we build a home in Koordistan. 

Thus was the house built. But the following letter 
shows that a house built for one family is often occupied 
by another. He wrote to me at Mosul, October 18 : It 
is my present plan to spend the coming winter here. Mr. 
Crane, before his death, had almost completed two upper 
rooms which he intended to occupy with his family this 
winter, and we had put up an upper room last summer. 
These three I am now having plastered and whitened. 
We also have two lower rooms, and two store-rooms. With 
these one family can be quite comfortable. We have had 
to burn native fuel hitherto, but I am hoping to get wood 
enough for one stove at least. 

I am trying to make our home as comfortable and in- 
viting as may be, in this wild region ; but after all the 
chief joy of my dwelling I hope to bring from Oroomiah. 
It is my plan now to be married this autiSmn, and yet God 
may order otherwise. He has been teaching me not to 
have any plans of my own ; but to wait, day by day, and 
moment by moment, the developments of his providence, 
and then choose what evidently seems to be his will for my 
own also. 

November 10, 1854, Mr. and Mrs. Rhea reached their 
new home. The fact was thus announced to Mr. Coan : 
" Can I tell you my dear brother, with what feelings we 
took possession this evening of our new home, and conse- 
crated it at our family altar ? We would invite our Lord 



MAEEIAGE. 185 

to be our first and ever-abiding guest. He is ready to 
come in." 

They were soon gratified by a visit from their tried 
friends, Dr. Wright and Dr. Perkins. The latter says : 
"I soon visited them to tender to them my congratulations, 
and cheer them in view of the long and dreary winter be- 
fore them. Their humble quarters were now much im- 
proved by the addition of small upper rooms, which relieved 
them from the annoyance of smoke and some of the un- 
grateful odors of the adjoining dwellings of the rude vil- 
lage." " Mrs. Rhea entered zealously upon the discharge 
of every duty devolving upon her," says Dr. Wright. 
" She regarded it as a leading duty to make her husband 
a pleasant and inviting home, that nothing might be want- 
ing which conduced to his health and happiness. Her suc- 
cess in this respect was complete. Everything about her 
house was orderly, and, though plain, in good taste ; and 
all she did was done in a quiet, noiseless way, as though 
costing very little effort. For one so intellectual, so fond 
of books and study, it was a marvel, to some of us, that she 
could be such a model for a housekeeper. Her character 
was complete. 

"It was the last of November when Mr. Perkins and 
myself made them their first visit from friends abroad. A 
more pleasant, a more happy home, no one could desire ; 
the very abode of peace, the pilgrim's resting-place in this 
vale of tears. In our musings when seated in those cheer- 
ful upper rooms, we often asked ourselves, ' Is this Gawar ? 
Is this Memikan, that place of vermin and filth ?' " 

Dr. Perkins proceeds : " On Sabbath evening, the night 
before my departure for Oroomiah, Mr. Rhea invited me 
to walk with him in the twilight. The theme which he 
soon introduced, and on which we conversed at length, was, 
the grand secret of holy living and gaining a meetness for 
16 « 



186 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

heaven. This theme was neither new nor unusual ; it was 
the study of Mr, Rhea's life, and few mortals of any age 
have made more successful progress in the study, as was 
patent in his daily walk. It was about this time that he 
wrote his touching colloquy between the Christian and his 
Saviour." 

The writer of this memoir makes no apology for intro- 
ducing this colloquy at this point; for. Reader, this book 
desires your sanctification — will utterly fail of its object 
with you if it does not leave you no longer dreaming, but 
intensely active to be more holy. Surely no reader can 
sympathize at all with the manner and spirit with which 
this book has thus far been written, without perceiving that 
its primary aim is not to entertain or instruct with regard 
to the rich and glowing East, not even to give a history of 
the mission field and work, so much as to give insight into 
Mr. Rhea's soul ; not so much for Mr. Rhea's soul's sake 
as for that soul's connection with Christ's wide family. 
Mr, Rhea's life is nothing if it be not God's trumpet-call 
to the future high stand-point of the Church of Christ. 

If Mr. Rhea be the peer of holy David Brain erd, as holy 
as the sainted Martyn, or possibly a freer, larger, more 
Christlike soul than either of those radiant men, we will 
approach him as to a burning bush — burning with varied 
experience and trials — not to behold the bush, but Christ in 
the bush. Having been privileged to look into Mr. Rhea's 
soul as very few have as yet had opportunity to look, the 
writer would pronounce this colloquy remarkable, in being, 
not the mere fanciful creation of intellect, hut a reality. It is 
the life and spirit of his own soul. 

THE SACRED UNION. 
I. IN THEE, THOU IN ME. 

Jesus. — Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any 



THE SACREU UNION. 187 

man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to 
him, and will sup with him and he with me. To-day I 
would be an abiding guest in thy house. In its retirement 
and privacy thou shalt find me. I must know thee and be 
known of thee inwardly, in Spirit and in Power, else I can- 
not be known savingly. 

Disciple. — O Jesus, thy words of grace and comfort fall 
upon my ears like strains of heavenly music. What con- 
descending gentleness and meekness ! Come in, thou be- 
loved and adorable One. Dost thou invite me to the em- 
braces of thy love? Art thou ready to fold me in thy 
bosom and to give me the rest for which my tossed and 
troubled heart has so long panted? I welcome thee. I 
adore thee in silence. In quietness of spirit I wait upon 
thee. Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. 

Jesus. — I am the Life, and I come to make thee a par- 
taker of that Life. I come by gentle whispers and secret 
longings. These will test thee, if indeed thou longest to 
enjoy my abiding Presence. 

Disciple. — O Jesus, if I should listen to some of the deep 
cravings of my spirit, especially during the hours of my 
supplications, I would say that, of all things, my soul pant- 
eth for this Blessed Presence ; but when I watch the inward 
movements of my thoughts, after and during the intervals 
of my devotions, I see so much of apparent indifference and 
foolish wanderings of heart and lips, that I tremble for the 
sincerity of my prayers. 

Jesus. — The past I can forgive and I can forget. Oh 
let this sink deep into thy heart : I can forgive and I can 
forget. I come to thee once more. Art thou willing to 
welcome me to be no longer a transient guest, but an ever- 
abiding Presence? I have often come to thee. Thou hast 
to some extent known me, but as yet thy life has been only 
intermittent pulsations. The ever-flowing fountain has not 



188 TENNESSEEAN IX PERSIA. 

been opened within thee. My interviews have been tran- 
sient ones. Thou hast not yet attained unto the true life. 
Thou sayest thou dost welcome me. Perhaps thou dost 
welcome my light, and love, and joy, and peace; but dost 
thou welcome my cross? Wilt thou be a cross-bearing 
Christian? Art thou willing to follow me without the 
camp ? Art thou willing to resign to my inward guidance 
thy whole being, so that thy will shall be swallowed up in 
mine? Thou must lose all that thou callest thy life, if 
thou wouldest find me the life everlasting. The old life of 
sin must be cut out, if the new life is engrafted. Ponder 
well what thou now doest. Count the whole cost. It is 
nothing less than the death of self, that I may become all 
in all to thee. For this art thou ready ? 

Disciple. — O Jesus, what shall I respond ? Tremblingly 
my heart says, I am ready for the last sacrifice, if I might 
but experience this blessed union with thee. I hear thy 
voice ; I open the door. Thou art my Life, my Light, my 
Love, my Joy, my Peace, my Sacrifice, my Lamb, my Great 
High Priest, my Wisdom, my Righteousness, my Sancti- 
fication, my Rod, my Staff*, my Guide, my Portion, my 
Song, my Refuge, my Rock, my Strong Tower, my Shield, 
my Wealth, my Gold Refined, my Pearl, my Hid Treasure, 
my White Raiment, my Balm of Gilead, my Physician, 
my White Stone, my Hidden Manna, my New Jerusalem, 
my Eternal Home. My Beloved is mine and I am his. 

THE SORROWING CONFESSION. 

Disciple. — O Lord, I think above all thing else my soul 
mourns these frequent slidings of my feet, these strayings 
away from beneath thy gentle wing, and I long for that con- 
stant spirit for which thy servant David prayed. 

Jesiis. — Draw near in confidence, and tell me all thy 
heart's sorrows. 



THE SACRED UNION. 189 

Disciple. — O Jesus, there have been times when I have 
doubted thy power to grant a full salvation, so sad have 
been some of my wanderings from thee. Some days I go 
with light and joyous step, chanting gently to myself thy 
praise, and sweetly assuring my heart of thy love, and feel- 
ing inwardly thy fond embraces. Sometimes at early dawn 
I renew my covenant vows, lay all upon thine altar, and 
enter into rest ; when, ere one fleeting hour is past, some hasty 
word, some impatient look or idle thought embitters all that 
day, and I seem to hear the rustling wings of the departing- 
Spirit. Or, if not so, I have seen the Sun of all my joys 
sinking slowly away, and felt the cold chills creeping about 
my heart, and I, a helpless thing, seemed unable even to 
cry for help. O Lord, why is it thus with me ? 

Jesus. — There may be reasons more than one. Thou 
didst once pride thyself too much upon thy soft and humble 
walking with me. Thine eyes were turned from me, thy 
Sun, to my reflected beams upon thy heart ; and as thou 
didst begin to glory in them thy Sun went down; thy 
heart grew dark and chill. Then thou didst learn that thy 
light was borrowed, and that thou must ever run thy race 
looking unto Jesus. But oftener, far, the secret cause of thy 
wanderings was thy failure to watch and pray, and thou 
didst enter into temptation. 

Disciple. — Yea, Lord, I know that I must watch and 
pray, but why didst thou not help me to watch and pray 
unceasingly ? 

Jesus. — Had I not watched and prayed within thee, long 
since thou wast lost. All the watchings thou hast done 
were from the strivings of my ever-wakeful Spirit. How 
oft hast thou not heard my gentle whispers when nearing 
in an hour of levity a fearful brink ! How often have the 
messengers of my love, a voice of warning like a trumpet- 
tongue from ray holy Word, or a solemn thought, or a 



190 , TENNESSEE AN IN PEESIA. 

petition inbreathed among thy formal prayers, startled thee 
into new life ! Think of the ten thousand forms in which 
I have whispered to thy soul, and then canst thou say that 
all the watching thou hast done is from thyself, and not 
from me? Perhaps thou wilt ask why I did not put forth 
my power to keep thy feet from ever sliding? But, re- 
member, I keep thee through thine own prayers and watch- 
ings. Thou wilt only learn to watch and pray when thou 
knowest that thou must watch or die. Know, once for all, 
thou must strive, work out thy salvation with fear and 
trembling, take the kingdom by violence. These must 
ring in thine ears until thou sing the song of victory, strug- 
gling, watching, praying; thou wilt never be so perfect 
here as that thou canst for one moment lay thine armor 
down. By my almighty power I can keep thee sinless. 
But this is not the method of Holy Growth, Discipline and 
Conquest. I will bring thee to unceasing vigilance, but in 
such a way as that it shall not be something out of thee, 
but the habit of thy inmost soul. The angels ceased to 
watch, and fell. Remember thy discipline is for eternity. 
I have never left thee until thou didst first leave me. Thou 
hast yet to learn that my Spirit is a most gentle spirit, most 
easily grieved away ; and before I knit thee to myself as 
the branch to the Vine, and take up my constant indwelling 
within thee, and fill the temple of thy soul with my glory, 
thou must learn to count my presence as the hid treasure, 
the one precious pearl, for which thou art willing to sell all 
that thou hast. 

Disciple. — O Lord, would that I might remember all the 
lessons of thy love ! My waiting eyes are unto thee. I 
wait in silence for the gracious words which fall from thy 
lips. Evermore give me this bread. 



THE SACKED UNION. 191 

THE UNSEEN PRESENCE. 

Surely the Lord was in this place, and I knew it not. 

Disciple. — I have long sought to be filled with thy Holy 
Spirit, as thou hast commanded me to be ; but still thou 
withholdest from me this most precious gift. 

Jesus. — Speak not too hastily. Whence those long and 
unwearied seekings ? Canst thou seek for the Spirit with- 
out the Spirit ? 

Disciple. — Yea, Lord, I know that without thee I can do 
nothing ; and for those inward hungerings and thirstings I 
adore the riches of thy grace ; and yet, O Lord, I have not 
that Baptism and Unction for which my soul above all 
things longeth. 

Jesus. — Thou hast all that it was best for thee to have ; 
but, remember, the Spirit's workings are ever various and 
with unerring wisdom. Hast thou not felt yearnings for 
some precious soul ? Then was thy prayer answered. Hast 
thou not been led to loathe thyself? Those inward kin- 
dlings of penitence were answers to thy prayers for the Spirit. 
Hast thou not felt thy heart bruised and broken, leading 
thee to walk softly and tremblingly before the Lord ? Hast 
thou not felt an unwonted watchfulness, lest thou shouldest 
grieve him whom thy soul loveth ? Hast thou not felt the 
keen reproofs of conscience for what once it slept over, and 
never spoke out? Hast thou not been often startled by a 
still small voice, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it ? 
Hast thou not felt thy compassions yearning toward the 
widow and fetherless, the poor and hungry, the naked and 
oppressed? All these were the gifts of the Spirit, and should 
have been to thee the sweet tokens of his indwelling presence, 
and that thy prayers have come up a memorial before God. 

Disciple. — O Lord, with shamefacedness I fall down be- 
fore thee, and acknowledge all my unbelief. How often 
hast thou been with me, and I knew it not ! 



192 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

Jesm. — Thou receivedst all for which thou hast prayed, 
the baptism and unction of the precious Comforter, but not 
in the form in which thou didst expect. Thou hast been 
waiting often for high joys, great illuminations, sensible 
comforts, but, remember, these are gifts which, in my sove- 
reignty, I bestow upon those who are so humble as not to 
be inflated by them. I ever give thee what is best for thee. 
Wilt thou not now trust me ? 

Disciple. — ^Yea, Lord, I will now walk in simplicity of 
spirit, as a little child, knowing that thou doest ever what 
is best. I see that I have prescribed to thee, instead of 
humbly and patiently waiting for thee. Instead of wel- 
coming the bread, the staff of life, I have longed for the oil 
and wine, those spiritual dainties which in wisdom thou 
hast withheld from me. 

THE GREAT CONDITION. 

If thou canst only believe. 

Disciple. — Most gracious Lord, I desire above all things 
else that thou wilt come and make thine abode with me, 
that thou wilt dwell in me and walk in me, that I may 
walk with thee, even as Enoch walked with thee, cheered 
by this testimony, that he pleased God. 

Jesus. — And to this I will assuredly bring thee, if thou 
wilt look to me only. This life for which thou longest is 
the Life of God, and the most resplendent glory of his 
creatures. But it is made up of holy habits to which thou 
must be trained, until thou shalt be changed into the image 
of the Lord. 

Disciple. — Adorable Lord! my heart leaps within me 
even at the distant prospect of this angelic life ; and yet, 
when I look within my faith staggers. 

Jesus. — If thou canst only believe, all things are possible 



THE SACRED UNION. 193 

for thee. If thou canst only believe that I love thee with 
a love whose depths eternity alone can explore, and with 
an ardor that burned unto death ; if thou canst only believe 
that I am nearer to thee than thou art to thyself, and 
long to fill thee with the fullness of my light, and life and 
joy and love ; and if thou wilt most humbly wait upon me, 
and look only to me, all thy spiritual longings shall be 
satisfied. 

Disciple. — Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 



By this far-ofi" Mississippi I have just opened a small 
rosewood writing-desk. On the metal of its lid is graven 
"Mary and Julia." It was a father's gift to his dear 
motherless children. From many neatly filed and tied and 
labeled little letter-packets written in delicate handwriting, 
sacredly kept as they were carefully put away by one who 
rests opposite Nineveh on the banks of the Tigris, I have 
selected one package which holds letter after letter labeled 
"Miss Harris." Please accept permission to read a few 
lines of the first, directed to New York city, as a sample of 
the warm affection that breathed through all, only ever 
growing purer and more refined. It runs : 

" Constantinople, AfHl 10, 1852. 
" My Dear Julia : Will you not pardon me for calling 
you Julia ? for I love the name and the one whose name it 
is. From this Eastern world I send greeting. From my 
windows I look upon the land which is soon, I trust, to 
become your home and mine. I often, very often, think of 
you. Why should I not? It was happiness to meet you 
in New York.* There are some hearts so warm that we 
cannot but love them ; and to meet and receive sympathy 

* Miss Harris was the sister of the eminent Dr. Harris, of the New 
York Board of Health. 

17 N 



194 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

from such a heart brings the joy we feel when, after dark 
and stormy days, the sun shines out and the birds begin to 
sing. And not only do I remember you as one who brought 
a ray of sunshine to my soul, but my sister says that you 
taught her to be cheerful. May your own path be full of 
light for the joy you have given us !" 

That path did shine more and more, and is now passing 
on and shining on in perfect day. But when Mr. Ehea 
next wrote from Gawar, having now a home, it will be seen 
that he felt some promptings of soul to extend a very cor- 
dial invitation in sympathy with that friendship. Novem- 
ber 27, 1854, he says : " We are now quite settled in our 
new home, and shall be happy to see you and Mrs. Marsh 
whenever you can visit us. If my wife should go through 
Koordistan to see you in Amidiah, will not Mrs. M. accom- 
pany her back ? But it is yet a long time until next sum- 
mer, and we know not what the intervening months may 
bring forth." Mrs. M., with her husband and Dr. Lobdell, 
had made, in October, a visit to Amidiah, the farthest point 
ever reached by a lady from the Mosul side of the moun- 
tains. They were examining in reference to a summer 
health-retreat for the Mosul station, which might be at the 
same time a field for labor among the mountain Nestorians. 

Mr. Rhea most intensely sympathized with all efforts to 
give the gospel to the tribes of Western Koordistan. For 
this he assisted the seminary at Seir most efiiciently in rais- 
ing up native helpers. He gathered a small boarding-school 
about him at Gawar, partly from that plain, but very largely 
from the still more rugged districts beyond. 

The winter, long and dreary as it was, Mr. and Mrs. 
Rhea passed in Gawar in solitude. Mrs. Rhea was deeply 
interested in all the plans and labors of her husband, and 
in many cases of perplexity was able to aid by her judg- 



THE SACRED UNION. 195 

ment and counsels. She not only managed the arduous 
and often perplexing domestic department of the boarding- 
school, but performed an important service in giving instruc- 
tion. She won the hearts of the rude pupils, and they 
looked up to her as a mother. She was indefatigable in 
her efforts for the temporal and spiritual good of the women 
of the village. She won their confidence and love, and they 
often sought her advice and instruction. She frequented 
their humble dwellings, weeping and rejoicing with them. 
She also diligently improved her own mind, indulging her 
taste for reading when not directly engaged in usefulness 
for others ; and having joined her husband in the study of 
Hebrew, she this winter read with him the book of Genesis 
in the original. No one could bear, uninjured, the death- 
like, winter solitude of Gawar without large internal re- 
sources ; but as both Mr. and Mrs. Rhea most happily pos- 
sessed these, the winter passed pleasantly and usefully away. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

DURING THE CRIMEAN AND PERSIAN WARS DRIVEN 

FROM THE MOUNTAINS. 

IN a single battle of the great Russian and Turkish war 
more souls entered eternity than all the missionaries 
who have died for five hundred years. Honor to the brave I 
Let them win earthly applause. Those who came out of 
sieges, battles, pestilence, and, from Kars and Crimea, re- 
turned safely to Sardinia, England, France, they had the 
honor of the nations. But did not the angels look down 
as approvingly upon those who, throughout the Crimean 
and Persian wars, held the missionary front in Koordistan ? 
Was the hero of Kars or the Malakoff more heroic than the 
solitary lady amid the Koords and snows of Gawar ? 

General Williams in those days sent an officer, a Pole, in 
hot haste from Kars to check a great Koordish rebellion 
on the Tigris. Russia was not only besieging, but intriguing 
against him, and he must meet Russia at a distance. Per- 
sia was long trembling on the edge of plunging into the red 
war sea for Russia. Her Moslem followers of Ali are 
drilled to hate with bitter intensity Turkish followers of 
the Ommiades, the murderers of Ali.* Almost drawn into 
the Crimean war, Persia actually engaged in war with Eng- 
land ; but, fortunately, not till after the very sudden and 
unexpected peace arranged by Alexander and Napoleon. 

The wild tribes of Koordistan sensitively sympathized 
with these agitations. It was a question whether some of 

* The two sects into which the Mahommedans are divided. 
196 



DAYS OF WAE. 197 

their hot and trembling mountains might not belch lava 
and run down with liquid fire. Reports of Koordish war- 
riors massing for storm rolled in* long reverberations 
through the Koordish mountains. The alert movement of 
General Williams from Kars, in sending an officer to ne- 
gotiate with Yez Deen Shir, was none too quick. The 
Turks removed the powerful young chief from Jezirah, and 
made him a state prisoner at Mosul. He used to visit us 
at Mosul to while away his time, and had savagely informed 
us that he would "like to kill every Jew, Yezidee and 
Christian," politely adding, " except yourselves, my friends, 
and drink their blood!" The Turks, in straits of war, 
trusted him to raise soldiers among the Koords. Koords 
flocked to his standard, not simply five thousand, but 
enough to lead him to defy the Turks. He rebelled, held 
Jezirah for several months, took and held all the fastnesses 
where the Tigris for fifty miles cuts through mountain- 
clefts grander than the Highlands of the Hudson. Before 
putting to death the pasha of Seert, he ignominiously rode 
him upon a donkey with face to the tail, making him carry 
puppies. The atrocities committed by him upon the Chris- 
tians of Jebal Tour sent shuddering through the mountains. 

While scenes of blood were enacting on the great high- 
way from Bagdad to Constantinople, Mr. Rhea, one hun- 
dred miles farther east, was occupying apparently the most 
exposed point of all. Mohammed Agha, near him, was 
trying to get up a Russian party and proceed to the Rus- 
sian camp, in avowed rebellion. We all knew something 
of the treachous character of the Koords. A number of 
our missionaries had been robbed by them. I had under- 
gone that process twice and Mr. Cochran once in the neigh- 
borhood of Gawar. 

During these months, Mr. and Mrs. Rhea nobly labored 
on and trusted God. Alluding to Yez Deen Shir, then in 
_17 » 



198 TENNESSEE AN IN PEESIA. 

possession of Jezirah and all that region, including the field 
of our native missionaries in Botan, Mr. Rhea wrote to me: 

January 23, 1855. — How much we have to be grateful for! 
Our homes might have been desolated, but God has kept us 
as the apple of his eye. How his great presence is round 
about us, and from his infinite heart streams of love and 
mercy are ever gushing out, and we see him not! How 
many hours of each day pass off, and how few warm, 
hearty, loving thoughts go up to that great Being, at the 
faintest conception of whose Eternity and Immensity our 
feeble intellects reel and stagger ; and before the unsullied 
glory of whose purity and holiness our poor hearts quail 
and sink within us ! There are times when I have unut- 
terable longings of soul to know that great Being who made 
me and sent his Son to redeem me. 

We may tell over and over again his glorious perfec- 
tions, and become most skillful adepts in what we call 
theology, but after all how little genuine heart-knowledge ! 
At this point we can only confess our utter impotence, and 
fall down at the feet of our Immanuel, remembering the 
words that he used while he was yet with us, " No man 
knoweth the Father save the Son, and he to whom the Son 
will reveal Mm." 

I thank you for your kind congratulations. Every day 
and every hour I congratulate myself when I think of my 
happy home and the dear partner God has given to travel 
with me, sweetly and lovingly, until we get at last home, 
safe home. The gift of Christ-loving wife, what a precious 
boon when contemplated in connection with our pilgrimage 
heavenward ! 

Often he sings of his comforts. Do winter winds sweep 
like gales at sea, he thanks God for daily mercies within, 
and mentions most gratefully that his wood holds out like 
widows' oil, " not half gone, and the coldest weather over !" 



DAYS OF WAR. 199 

Do wild, passionate boys, fresh caught, and yet as un- 
broken as their own mountain goats, and helpers more im- 
perfect even than we ourselves, try him, and does hot 
Eshoo blaze into ungoverned passion, he thinks of his own 
sins, mourns and prays, and looks for perfect peace to the 
sinless heaven. When in late April, with still four feet 
depth of snow, the winds whirl the drifts in tempest, he 
hears in the wintry wail another requiem for his brother 
Crane, sleeping under the pure snow ; and when the mild 
days at length come, and nature looks spring-like, he says : 
" The birds fill the air with sougs of joy that the winter is 
passed, and we sing with them." 

In his pilgrimage he often bursts out in such thoughts as 
these : " How purely must our life, if life at all, be a life 
of faith ! How often do we travel at night, or at least in 
dusk of evening, or in mist and fog ! Not so with all ! 
To favorites the King reveals court secrets ; grants frequent 
and refreshing interviews. And yet I think he will none 
the less love those who, without those more extraordinary 
manifestations do still meekly take up their daily cross and 
follow after the suffering Saviour in darkness. 

"Oh, how full our world is of crosses! Our path is 
planted with them. And all are mercifully given that the 
spirit of self, in all its countless forms, may be put to death 
over and over again, until we can say, * I am crucified with 
Christ, nevertheless I live ; yet not I, Christ liveth in me — 
the very life of the lovely Jesus reproduced and reacted 
in and through me ! Blessed life ! Thrice blessed — if only 
we might attain unto it ! I fear in this age too much stress, 
relatively, is laid upon the first step, the conversion, and not 
enough upon the growth, the struggles and the vietoryJ " 

His tender heart sympathizes most keenly not only with 
missionaries and native helpers and brethren, but also with 
the wandering and lost. By simple mountain villager he sits 



200 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

down, feeling kind interest in his heart-story, in his domes- 
tic troubles, his poverty, his taxes, his funeral grief, disap- 
pointed hope, or joy of coming bridal. 

Now and then, amid the more momentous issues of the 
soul, the excited state of the Koords attracts his attention. 

April 3, 1855, he writes : Our plain for some days has 
been in feverish excitement in consequence of movements of 
Mohammed Agha. The pasha gave him a handsome pres- 
ent to keep him in good humor. For the last month he 
has been using his newly-acquired power in a way to excite 
the jealousy if not alarm of the Turks. Accompanied by 
two or three hundred men, he left his village for pleasure. 
When near Bashkollah the pasha sent for him. He offered 
to come with his little army. The pasha wished only a 
private interview. He avoided the snare, and bade the 
pasha defiance. The pasha gathered up his cannon and 
went after the rebel. We long to hear that Mohammed 
Agha is in chains, and on his way to Stamboul. We feel 
anxious to learn the result, which may concern the safety 
of our residence. 

May 8. — Things are getting into a lawless state. Koord- 
ish -chiefs riding on the plain, exacting at pleasure from the 
poor Christians, and the word in everybody's mouth, " The 
Turks are used up." The Koordish chiefs say, " The Eng- 
lish will certainly get the country, but until then let us 
have a good time." I see nothing doing to restore order ; 
and unless the Turks bestir themselves, this region will be 
beyond their control. We had a visit from Chellabi Agha 
(a Koordish chief) yesterday. He has always been 
friendly, and pledges his two hundred men for our defence 
if necessary. We do not fear molestation. We trust the 
Lord will permit us to remain. 

May 29. — He writes to his parents : I am studying 
Koordish. I am every day brought in contact with 



DAYS OP WAR. 203 

Koords ; and for our protection and security here it is im- 
portant that I know their language. But my chief design 
in making myself familiar with their language is that I 
may preach to them Christ crucified. If my poor life is 
spared, this I confidently hope to do. They too are im- 
mortal, and many among them numbered doubtless among 
God's elect ones to be gathered from the four winds of 
heaven. Oh, what a privilege to be the instrument of 
bringing a wild and savage Koord to the feet of the Lord 
Jesus ! What sacrifices may we not gladly welcome to be 
thus honored. I do not think it will be a difficult language 
to acquire. Being a corruption of the Persian, it belongs 
to the great Germanic family, and is a distant relation of 
the English ; it does not sound so strange as the Syriac 
did to me at first. 

About two weeks ago we had some pleasant arrivals in 
Gawar. First, two of our good brethren from Oroomiah, 
Stoddard and Cochran, the only American faces we had 
seen since last fall. If you had been housed for five months 
and had not seen the face of a friend, nor heard the sweet 
sounds of your native tongue in the prayers and converse 
of a missionary brother or sister, would you not welcome 
them with joy to your home? Imagine then the happy 
hours we spent with these good brethren during the few 
days they sojourned under our roof But we had another 
arrival, and I can assure you it was a very pleasant one — 
the box — the long looked-for box from my home. It had 
been on the road almost a year, but it came at last un- 
harmed. We opened it with great joy, because it looked 
like home, and it and all that was in it came through pre- 
cious hands and spoke tenderly of the love of kind friends. 
With peculiar emotions we took up one by one the articles 
which your own hands had handled and packed away. We 
thought of the dear friends who had contributed them, and 



204 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

thanked them in our hearts. The last thing I opened was 
the little box containing what we now call our household 
treasures. As I looked upon those dear faces, I wept. So 
natural were they that I wondered we could not speak one 
with another. I seemed, as it were, transported in a dream 
into your presence, but by some strange ordering our 
tongues were holden. Long, long did I gaze upon the faces 
so familiar. 

In August, 1855, Mr. and Mrs. Rhea left the mountains 
and spent five weeks in Oroomiah, attending the Annual 
Mission Meeting, and enjoyed the delights of social and re- 
ligious communion with cherished friends in Persia. From 
Oroomiah he wrote to me (September 1): " I still feel the 
loss of Brother Crane ; perhaps in nothing more than in those 
frequent and free conversations on experimental godliness, 
the way to live nearer to God. How often have I thus been 
revived and stirred up to press with greater diligence to- 
ward the mark ! Yesterday I was reminded of these golden 
privileges by an hour's pleasant converse with Mr. Stoddard 
on holy things. Do you not think it an important means 
of grace ? Do we make enough of it ? The command, Ex- 
hort one another daily, has a meaning. 

" I long to drink deeper from the fountain of life. I desire 
that love, and joy, and peace, and spiritual-mindedness, and 
love for souls, all the Christian graces, may become habits. 
If I could keep up the struggles I have some days, the spirit 
of prayer and watching, and feeding upon the word, and 
strong faith in Jesus, I think I should make rapid progress, 
but I mourn a want of steadiness in waging an unceasing 
warfare. To make progress in religious things we must 
make it the great every-day business. Be assured, my dear 
brother, I shall always most gladly sufier the word of ex- 
hortation from your kind pen." 



DAYS OF WAE. 205 

After spending five delightful weeks in Persia, constantly 
preaching in the villages, and constantly enjoying spiritual 
intercourse with refined and sympathizing friends, Mr. 
Khea left his wife there for six weeks, and with Mr. Breath 
entered the mountains. During that long and arduous tour, 
in which they visited fifty villages, we had the rare delight 
of welcoming them for a stay of less than five days in 
Mosul. 

From Serpil he writes September 19 : Mar Shimon, the 
Nestorian Patriarch, yesterday was welcomed to the valley 
with the roar of guns, martial music and the presence of a 
large and enthusiastic gathering. The Koords, Resh Agha 
and Chellabi Agha, with their armed men from Gawar, 
had arranged themselves on the mountain slope, and just 
as Mar Shimon emerged from the ravine they gave him a 
grand salute, which was responded to by the Jeloo troops 
accompanying the patriarch. You can imagine such a 
volley of musketry reverberating through these wild ra- 
vines as somewhat grand. The patriarch gave us a very 
civil reception ; he said, " My body is faint, my soul is sick. 
The last age spoken of by our Saviour has come when king- 
dom should rise against kingdom," 

From Bass, September 22: More than one hundred 
have gone from this district to join the patriarch, who was 
almost on the point of resuming independence. Still we 
have good congregations. Oh that the Lord would give the 
hearing ear ! Deacon Tamo enters into the work with all 
his heart, and preaches with great acceptance. 

We all enjoy the journey greatly. Walking down the 
mountains so relieves me of the fatigue of riding that, at 
night, I can sit till 10 or 11 o'clock preaching and talking. 
A number are waiting for medicine. Oh that they would 
seek the Great Physician ! Blessed be God, there is balm 
in Gilead ! It is the greatest delight of my heart to lead 

18 



206 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

my dying fellow-men to our tender-hearted and compassion- 
ate Saviour. The patriarch became very angry with the 
remaining helpers, reviled them, and would not suffer them 
to come near him. He said he would take a mule from 
Eshoo and Shlemon for reading in our school last winter, 
and if they went again he would take another. 

From Gawar, November 22, 1855, he alludes to this tour: 
I am very happy in writing to you once more from my dear 
home. We came up from Oroomiah about ten days ago. 
I was detained there by a week's illness. We had a safe 
and prosperous journey from Mosul homeward, and reached 
Oroomiah fifteen days after leaving you. I never enjoyed 
a tour more. May the Lord of the harvest watch over the 
scattered seed, that not a grain be lost ! There were times 
when, as we sowed, we wept. 

Again in their mountain home, alone but cheerful and 
earnest, Mr. and Mrs. Rhea labored for the souls around 
them. Yet was it a winter of trials. One of their female 
pupils, a bright Nestorian girl, was carried off by a son of 
the Koordish chief, greatly to the grief of the missionaries ; 
the war between Great Britain and Persia necessitated the 
removal of powerful friends in the British embassy ; Turks 
and Koords were menacing each other in Gawar ; Mrs. 
Rhea's father was instantly killed (in America) by being 
run over by a railway car; lawless Koords were plundering 
the Christians of the plain. But, with the thermometer at 
20°, 30°, 36° below zero, our heroic friends long maintained 
their position, and stood, trusting only in God, witnesses 
for Jesus Christ. 

Mr. and Mrs. Rhea were for months in lively expectation 
of welcoming a physician to cheer them in their solitude, 
relieve them in their sickness and strengthen them in their 
work. But they were doomed to sore disappointment. The 



DAYS OF WAR. 207 

physician, who started from America, mysteriously turned 
back from Liverpool ; and, during the last days of autumn, 
Dr. Wright and Dr. Perkins . hastened to Gawar to solace 
them under the trying intelligence, and cheer them in the 
prospect of another lonely winter. They both heroically 
and submissively bore that saddening disappointment, and 
were happy and hopeful in their missionary work. 

During the previous year the Turkish govei'ument had 
withdrawn all its garrisons from Central Koordistan to re- 
inforce its armies in the Crimean war. Those wild regions 
were now left entirely to the mercy of savage Koords. Dis- 
orders and robbery and murders became frequent and fright- 
ful, and sad forebodings to the solitary missionary and his 
wife were earnestly pressed upon their attention by the Nes- 
torians. It was even rumored that the malevolent patriarch. 
Mar Shimon, was attempting to instigate a bloody Koordish 
chief to murder the missionary and seize his wife for his 
harem. That evil-minded man was certainly not above 
pursuing such a policy. But they held nobly on in their 
missionary work, unchecked and undaunted, till midwinter, 
when fresh outbreaks and the accumulating snows admon- 
ished them that they would soon be absolutely imprisoned 
by that barrier, whatever might come upon them, and they 
deemed it prudent to retreat to Oroomiah. Their journey 
was one of great hardship, performed much of the way on 
foot, over lofty mountains, which were then all but impass- 
able for footmen, and entirely so for beasts of burden. 

Dr. Wright vividly sketches the journey : "They started, 
trusting in God. It was near the last of January. The 
first day Mrs. Rhea was able to ride, and for a while also 
the second day. But on the mountain separating Gawar 
from Oroomiah the snows were too deep for the horses to 
carry their riders. Our friends were obliged to walk, and 
that, too, in deep snow. For several hours that day, indeed 



208 TENNESSEE AN IN PEESIA. 

till they had nearly reached the village of Basan, situated 
on the declivity of the mountain on the Oroomiah side, 
Mrs. Rhea was unable to mount her horse. We marvel 
that her strength did not fail, and that she did not fall 
exhausted at the roadside. An unseen Hand upheld her. 
They reached us unharmed. After a few days' rest they 
went out on a tour in the villages." 

They were gladly welcomed at Oroomiah, for their friends 
had passed anxious days and nights thinking of their peril- 
ous situation. 

Mr. Rhea engaged with his accustomed ardor in mission- 
ary labors at Oroomiah, and wherever he circulated and 
preached in the villages the Spirit of the Lord accompanied 
his message, while he "so spake" that many believed. 

I should perhaps sooner have stated, in regard to Mr. 
Rhea's remarkable powers as a preacher, that he was him- 
self so unconscious of possessing them that often, at the 
close of a service in which he had thrilled and deeply 
moved his audience, he betrayed a painful apprehension 
of failure, conceiving, with the least imaginable reason, that 
he had only been " beating the air." In this matter, as in 
others, he had, in an eminent degree, the modesty of genius. 
On one occasion, when he was on a visit to Oroomiah, as 
he returned to his room, at the close of a service at which 
he had preached with great pungency, he said, " I have 
failed, as usual, to make any impression ;" while some of 
the Nestorians who had listened to him were heard to say, 
as they left the place of worship, " How he made our hearts 
sweat !" an Oriental figure expressive of deep emotion. 



CHAPTER XV. 

UP AGAIN TO THE MOUNTAIN POST — AMERICAN LADIES 
EXPLORE THE WILDEST RECESSES OF KOORDISTAN. 

aOOD soldiers sometimes retreat, but, as every point of 
earth belongs to the Captain of our Salvation, soldiers 
of the cross can never in soul abandon their field. From 
that lonely grave of Mr. Crane, Mr. Rhea heard a call, not 
as Joseph's taking oath, "Ye shall surely bear up my bones 
to the promised land," but rather, " Gawar is promised land ; 
hasten, brother, bring the promise up to my grave." In 
May, 1856, a degree of order having been restored to the 
mountains, they hastened to resume their post. 

June 11th, to his parents : You will rejoice with us that, 
after an absence of four months, we are once more in our 
own mountain home. Those Koordish chiefs who kept the 
country in a constant turmoil during the last winter, bidding 
the Turks defiance, killing their pasha and then returning 
to crush with iron heel the poor Christians, are now, some 
skulking in the mountain fastnesses, some have already 
gone in irons as state prisoners, and those who have not yet 
been seized, or who have not yet fled, are waiting every 
hour in anxious suspense. The chief rebel, Mohammed 
Agha, whose lawless movements drove us in the dead of 
winter from our home, has not yet been seized, but two hun- 
dred Turks are after him, and will doubtless take him ere 
long. The Turkish troops returned here six weeks ago, ac- 
companied by Shir Bey, from Diarbekir. He is still here 
with his 1500 rufiian soldiers, quartered upon the villages, 
18 * 209 



210 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

like locust swarms, devouring everything. Though he did 
a good service in aiding the Turks to crush the rehel Koords, 
his exactions have been cruelly oppressive. 

"What a miserable government this is, especially in re- 
mote provinces! This Koordish chief is entitled to rations 
from the government, but the pasha sends him here with 
his hungry horde, and gives him full license to revile, curse, 
beat and plunder the poor Christians, devour their flocks 
and empty their dairies and granaries. The Turk is no 
longer worthy to rule. He will make the fairest promises 
to the English and French governments ; still, in practical 
fulfillment, the poor Christians sufier greatly, especially in 
the remote sections of the Empire. A more corrupt set of 
officials cannot be found than these Turks. 

Coming up from Oroomiah, after I reached the plain of 
Gawar, I had a little adventure. I called on the authori- 
ties at Dizza, who treated me very kindly. I heard then 
that their ally. Shir Bey, Avas in the plain, but not on my 
road. As I approached the village of Muskhoodawa, I saw 
two flags planted on the roofs of the mud-huts, and observed 
large numbers of armed Koordish soldiers standing around. 
We got down to let our horses rest and eat a few moments, 
and I sat down in the shade talking with a Turk. I had 
not been there long when a Nestorian came running to me 
and said : " They have thrown off your baggage and seized 
your mules." I went at once, and sure enough they were 
throwing off my baggage. I remonstrated with the Koord 
who superintended the operation, and told my Nestorian to 
put on what had been thrown off. At this the Koord, who 
I afterward learned was brother of the chief, struck my 
attendant two blows over his head with a stick which he 
held in his hand. The blood spouted out and streamed 
down over his face. I demanded of him why he thus in- 
sulted me. He said I was a Eussian spy ; no such charao- 



KOOEDISTAN EXPLORED. 211 

ter as I could pass without being arrested. I told him I 
was a resident, showed him where my house was, and told 
him that I had lived there five years, had been absent a 
few months and was returning to my home. He would not 
hear to this. 

I directed my man to go at once to the authorities in 
Dizza and state what had occurred. The Koords under- 
stood my meaning and seized him. I then told them I 
would go. No, they would not consent to that. Being in 
the hands of three or four hundred armed ruffians, I saw 
resistance was in vain. I then demanded that he would 
send a man to Dizza to the authorities, who knew me well. 
He consented, and, for the time being we were put under 
guard. It was then about ten o'clock. The Turk who was 
there invited me to his house to remain till the soldier who 
was sent to Dizza returned. 

It was not long before the chief sent for me. He evi- 
dently began to relent for abusing my Nestorian, He had 
coffee brought, and wished to get dinner for me, but I declined. 
Pretty soon the head man of the village, a Nestorian, came 
in and whispered in my ear that if I would give the chief 
a small present he would let me off. This suggestion was 
repeated time and again, and the more as the soldier delay- 
ed returning from Dizza. After a while a fat, pompous old 
Koord came in puffing and blowing, and said he had been 
keeping a most vigilant guard upon my baggage, and if it 
had not been for his unremitting efforts it would have been 
plundered by the crowd. I replied that I had no concern 
about my mules and baggage, as I would hold the chief 
responsible, and that I should remain indefinitely before I 
would buy myself off. It was approaching sundown. I 
had waited five hours to hear from Dizza, not more than 
three miles distant. I observed a Koord going up to the 
chief and whispering for some time in his ear ; that Koord 



212 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

had been fumbling about my saddle-bags on my horse, and 
had noticed some papers. I was certainly a Russian spy, 
for my saddle-bags were full of papers. In prying around 
he also detected a small bag of money. He informed the 
chief, and asked permission to appropriate it ; but the chief 
refused. At last the soldier arrived, and brought word that 
I had been here for five years, and should not be interrupt- 
ed or in any way molested. The chief then said, " You 
have come welcome — go in peace." 

This is just the reply which I wanted. I took my leave. 
Quite a number of suitors for presents gathered around me 
as I was mounting my horse — one, because he had so nobly 
defended my baggage ; another, because he had made me a 
cup of cofiee ; another, because he had gone to the author- 
ities on my business ; another, because he had struck up 
some doleful notes on a cracked tambourine for my enter- 
tainment, and called it music. I referred them one and all 
to the chief, who, of right, ought to pay the cost. 

One plan, we note, among others employed by Mr. Rhea 
for preaching Christ, was to offer to passing travelers a guest- 
room. In July he mentions that five or six hundred had 
received his hospitality and heard glad tidings. 

From his journal of September, 1856 : Monday, 22, — In 
the morning, while in the mountain, had a delightful sense 
of God's love shed abroad in my heart ; longed for that 
perfect love which easts out all fear. All nature seemed 
vocal with the love of God. Thought I should retain 
through the day those pan tings of heart after God, but 
failed. Were the love of God all-absorbing, nothing would 
divert me ; it would be with great difficulty that I could 
detach my thoughts from him to think of earth. 

Wednesday, 24. — Began the day with earnest desire to 
walk with God. Do not remember to have spoken an idle 



KOOEDISTAN EXPLORED. 213 

or thoughtless word. Had frequent thoughts of God in the 
midst of my employments. Nothing but grace enables me 
to get the victory over any, even the least, besetting sin. 
Felt sensibly God's restraining grace when tempted to idle 
and censorious conversation. Conversed with a poor man 
from Bilignai. 

Thursday, 25. — Bead and conversed in Turkish. En- 
abled to maintain, for the most part, a spirit of watchful- 
ness ; to remember God and seek his blessing upon my dif- 
ferent employments. At. different times through the day 
enabled to say, " Abba, Father." Felt all through the day 
deep longings after that fullness of love which will make all 
obedience sweet — that perfect love which shall cast out all 
fear. Hope to attain it by the grace of God. Determined 
to strive for it with all my powers. That love is salvation — 
is heaven. I see no reason why I may not, through rich 
grace in Christ, love God with all my heart. That I do 
not, is of all things the most unreasonable and the most un- 
pardonable. If I do not, I cannot be fully assured that I 
am a child of God. God is a jealous God. He demands 
all my heart. O Lord, help me to give it to thee without 
any reserve. 

Friday, 26. — Read and talked Turkish. Less watchful 
and prayerful than on the preceding days. 

Saturday, 27. — A morning of sorrow, remorse, and, I trust, 
of contrition. Suddenly overcome by an easily-besetting 
sin. Felt deeply humbled, ashamed to meet my offended 
Saviour and tell him all, and still felt that I could not stay 
away from him. Found some relief in pleading the pro- 
mise, "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the 
Father." Did not have the calm enjoyment of some pre- 
ceding days ; the reason obvious ; hard to get back on the 
old ground of acceptance and assurance. Prepared for the 
Sabbath services. Talked Turkish in the afternoon. The 



214 TENNESSEE AN IN PEESIA. 

thought of having the approving smile of God, of pleasing 
him in all my deportment, a delightful one in the evening. 
Oh, if to-day's experience could make me henceforth go 
softly, with a bowed and bruised spirit, it would not be in 
vain that I was left to fall. 

Sabbath, 28. — Read to-day the chapter on holy living in 
Hodge's "Way of Life." If there is anything in this 
world that I desire it is perfect holiness, which is perfect 
love. This is salvation, redemption. 

Early in October, Mr. and Mrs. Rhea visited the districts 
of Ishtazin, Bass, T'khoma, Tal and Diss. No lady had 
ever penetrated those wild and rugged regions, except the 
near district of Ishtazin. We have a glimpse of a part of 
it in a letter from Mr. Rhea : 

Gawar, Nov. 6, 1856. 

You may be interested to hear something of a tour made 
recently by Martha and myself to the interior of Koordis- 
tan. I had been twice through those wild regions, over the 
most frightful and dangerous roads, and I made up my 
mind never to take my wife farther into the mountains. 
She, however, has felt very anxious to penetrate where an 
American lady had never before ventured, and meet the 
mountain Nestorian women in their own homes. I knew 
that such a tour would involve no little risk. We set out 
on Thursday, October 2. 

You may like to know something of our mode of travel- 
ing. We had six mules ; on two of them Martha and my- 
self were mounted, on two others. Deacon Tamo and 
Guergis, our Nestorian servant; and on the others were 
our tent and a large pair of Russian saddle-bags, large 
enough to carry our bedding, some provisions and cooking 
utensils. 

Our village lies just under Jeloo, the highest mountain 
in Koordistan, supposed to rise sixteen thousand feet above 



KOO-RDISTAN EXPLORED. 215 

the sea, and nearly nine thousand above the plain of Gawar. 
We began at once to ascend this lofty range. We crossed 
it in a comparatively low gap, and the ascent is quite easy. 




TENTS FOR THE TOUR IN KOOEDISTAN. 



As we wound up the mountain the plain of Gawar spread 
out beautiful behind us, and the snowy tops of Jeloo rose 
grandly in front. The descent was not very trying for 
some distance. M. rode on her mule until we came to a 
cool spring gushing out from under some old walnuts. 
There we halted and lunched. 

But now came the tug of war. Far, far down we saw 
the little fields and trees of the village, which we were to 
reach that night. We were on the brink of a frightful 
gorge. Here M. dismounted, the idea of riding being out 
of the question. To have gone down over that precipitous 
stairway would have been a greater feat than Putnam's 
gallop. For an hour and a half M. walked, holding on to 
my hand the most of the time. Once at the bottom, and 
looking back to find our zigzag road, it seemed impossible 
to trace it among the crags and along the almost perpen- 
dicular face of the mountain. 

We had not been on the road more than an hour and a 
half when a messenger came after us post-haste, saying that 



216 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

Miss Fiske and Messrs. Stoddard and Cochran were on their 
way to join us in our tour, and would reach our village the 
next day. We were somewhat perplexed for a few moments 
to know what to do ; but finally, since it would be very dif- 
ficult, if not impossible, for them to find mules in Gawar, 
we concluded to go on to Ishtazin and send our mules back 
to bring them over on Saturday. 

We reached Ishtazin in good season, and it was but a 
few moments before our little green tent was pitched and 
the tea-kettle singing upon the blazing fire. The family 
of our old friend. Mar Ogloo, the pipemaker, were very 
attentive in their efibrts to provide us with milk and 
carrots, which was all that could be furnished in the way 
of eatables. 

Saturday, Oetober 4. — Our friends joined us about the 
middle of the afternoon. We welcomed with joy such good 
company for the rest of our journey. 

Sabbath, October 5. — Early on Sabbath morning we scat- 
tered among the villages of the district to proclaim the 
glad tidings. M., Mr. Stoddard and myself went up to 
Serpil. M. rode, and Mr. S. and myself went on foot, the 
distance being only about an hour. We were pained to see 
such entire disregard of the Sabbath. Nearly all the men 
were away at work. A little company listened, though not 
without rudeness, to the gospel of grace and love. Martha 
sat under a walnut, and many women came and sat down 
by her. No lady from our number had ever visited that 
village before. We have a helper stationed there, but as 
yet do not see much change for the better among its wild, 
rude inhabitants. 

We came back to our tent after dinner, and, being joined 
by Mr. Cochran and Deacon Tamo, I visited the villages 
in the opposite direction ; thus all the five villages of the 
valley were once more invited to Christ. Many, however, 



KOORDISTAN EXPLOEED. 217 

were too busily engaged in worldly matters to give heed to 
eternal interests. Why should they? Their priests tell 
them "All is safe — they need pay no attention to these 
strange doctrines " — and they willingly sleep on. 

Monday, October 6. — We were up bright and early, pulled 
down our tent, and were in our saddles by eight o'clock. 
Immediately after leaving the village our road led through 
a narrow defile, and on either side the cliffs, like colossal 
towers, rose apparently a thousand feet above us. Sometimes 
our road was cut from solid rock, four or five feet wide, and 
many feet above the roaring stream below. At such places 
the ladies always dismounted, as a slip of the mule's foot 
might dash animal and rider upon the rocks below. All 
at once, by a sudden turn, we found ourselves ushered into 
a very narrow gorge between lofty, perpendicular rocks. 
We did not emerge for a half hour. It seemed as if the 
sun had never sent a cheering beam into that deep, dark 
ravine. We were five hours in reaching the top of the 
mountain, from which we looked down upon the beautiful 
village of Zeir. There it lay with its terraced fields and 
houses one above the other, on the face of the mount. There 
was the village church, and an old dilapidated castle, where 
a brave chief, in the days of Nestorian independence, had 
defied the invading Koords. 

We had now a long, steep descent. We all dismounted 
and went down at a brisk walk. Many of the Zeir people 
had stopped at our house during the summer, taken a meal 
and heard the gospel, and were quite friendly. They 
gathered in large numbers about our tent. We held a 
religious service after getting our tent pitched, the men 
gathering on one side of the tent and the women on the 
other. After supper we went up to the old malik, or 
chief's, house. 

The m.ilik listened attentively to Tamo as he preached 

19 



218 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

Christ, and salvation by free grace alone. He at length 
interrupted him, saying, " We have a head (Mar Shimon), 
and just as he says we will do." - ■ ■' 




MISSIONARY liADT AND MOUNTAIN NESTORIAN WOMEN. 

This was popish infallibility strong enough. Tamo re- 
plied that this matter of religion and the soul's salvation 
was personal between every man and his God, and Mar 
Shimon had no right to interfere in any way, except to 
teach the sinner how he might find pardon from an offended 
God. 

To this the malik did not reply. We spent a very plea- 
sant time upon the roof, Messrs. Cochran and Stoddard 
addressing the people after Tamo had closed his remarks. 

When we reached the tent it was near nine o'clock. We 
found a large company of women. Miss Fiske and M. in 
their midst, telling them of Him who so loved us that he 
gave himself for us. We know not but on that night the 



KOOEDISTAN EXPLOEED. 219 

heart of some Lydia may have been opened to welcome 
Christ* 

One night they were roused by disti-essed bleatings, and, 
looking out from their tent, saw a bear moving along upon 
a high wall to get at his victim. He was soon, however, 
driven away by the mountaineers. 

Dr. Wright says : 
- Though the effort was too great to be repeated, taxing 
strength of muscle and nerve to the utmost, Mrs. Rhea was 
glad that she made the tour. She saw much of the field to 
which she and her husband were devoted ; she visited the 
helpers in their homes, and could better sympathize with 
and pray for them ; she spoke the words of life to many 
perishing females ; she was made to realize more than ever 
how inviting her Gawar home was in contrast with the 
more rugged and inaccessible parts beyond. Government 
and order had been partially restored, and our friends were 
greatly encouraged in their work. The Holy Spirit ap- 
peared to be sealing some souls for eternal life. 

November 3. — How are the Turks behaving on your side? 
Here there is but one long, loud cry of oppression and 
wrong. I was preaching in the villages yesterday. In 
one, the night before, at a late hour, twelve Turkish soldiers 
entered a house, seized two women, dragged them from their 
beds, put them on horseback, and were making off, they 
crying piteously. The husband of one was gagged and 
beaten. The villagers succeeded in rescuing one, but the 
other was taken off to Dizza. They say she has become a 

* The reader interested in the Nestorian people and work will find 
much that will please and instruct him in Woman and her Saviour in 
Persia. It is issued by Messrs. Gould & Lincoln, of Boston, to whom 
we are under obligations for aid in illustrating this book. Dr. Grant 
and the Mountain Nestorians, published by the same firm, is another 
work of interest bearing upon this field and people. 



220 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

Musselman ; and what Nestorian woman would not when a 
prisoner in the hands of Turkish soldiers ? 

Again was the Nestorian mission afflicted, deeply af- 
flicted and bereaved, by the death of the Rev. David Tap- 
pan Stoddard, a man of saintly life, fine culture and high 
usefulness. His death deeply impressed Mr. Rhea. Feb- 
ruary 3, 1857, he says : 

How hard to realize that our dear Brother Stoddard is 
no longer with yo\i ; that we are never to see him again 
there or here ! He will have no more to do with earth, un- 
less it be as a ministering spirit to the heirs of salvation. 
In spirit I see the face which had struck so many as a pe- 
culiarly heavenly one. It is my daily, almost hourly prayer 
that the death of Mr. Stoddard may leave an abiding 
savor of heaven, and of Christ, and of divine things upon 
all our hearts and deportment, upon all our native brethren 
and upon our entire work. I find myself often lost amid 
musings and pleasant recollections of him. I can truly say 
that all the influence he ever exerted over me was for 
Christ, heaven and eternity. He was the first missionary I 
knew personally; and my first impressions of missionary 
character could not have been happier. Oh, that I might 
be quickened by his life and death to more ardent hun- 
gerings after holiness and a deeper devotion to Christ's 
service ! * 

In March he writes to myself: 

We have good news, the very best we could have from 
Oroomiah. The Spirit is breathing light and love into 
some hearts. I wept when I heard of it — for joy, that sin- 
ners are penitent ; for grief, that I have never yet, to my 
knowledge, had a seal of my ministry. Pray for me, dear 
brother — for this little company of youth under our roof. I 

* The memoir of this man of God, prepared by Eev. Joseph P. 
Thompson, D. D., is published by the American Tract Society, Boston. 



KOOEDISTAN EXPLOEED. 221 

do long to see them m Christ ; but oh I am so fearful they 
will go away unimpressed, unsaved ! 

The following is characteristic : Dear brother, I hope you 
will never be so naughty again as to send one of my letters 
to America or anywhere else. I tried to find a thick sheet 
of paper, so that the appeal to your pocket would prevent 
it, but did not succeed. 

Of Harriet Stoddard, who soon followed her father, he 
writes to Mr. Coan, April 6, 1857 : Our Mosul friends would 
like to know everything about dear Harriet's sickness and 
death. How wonderful the grace of Jesus, that can inspire 
the most timid of his lambs with a courage that quails not 
before the dread presence of the king of terrors! The 
tender and sensitive nature, shrinking back from everything 
of a frightful character, now meets death unappalled. The 
little child with firm step approaches the brink of the 
stormy river, laughs at its surging billows, plunges into its 
breakers, sinks and rises, sings amid the buffetings of the 
waves, until at length on the far-distant shore is seen the 
little victor, calm, serene, exultant, standing amid bands 
of shining angels, who pour upon her their welcomes and 
congratulations, and unite with her in songs of victory. 
May we meet death as calmly and sweetly as dear Har- 
riet. The battle is fought, the victory won. Oh some- 
times how I envy those who have got safely over the swell- 
ing tide ! 

April 27. — He measures six feet of snow — treasures for 
Persia — to melt and flow down upon its plains. 

Late in May a small band was gathered, the first in 
Koordistan for several hundred years, to observe the Lord's 
supper with anything like proper solemnity and decorum. 
Shortly afterward, June 4, 1857, he kept a private holy 
day. He then, entering upon the care of this little moun- 
tain church aneiv, solemnly gave himself wholly to God. His 

19 « 



222 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

journal is resumed, and reads: June 4. — A solemn day! 
Oh that its impressions may not be as the morning oloud 
and early dew! In the morning felt deeply dissatisfied 
■with myself as I saw how far removed I was from that high 
standard of holiness held up in God's holy Word. At noon 
read the chapter in Hodge's "Way of Life" on Holy Living. 
In the afternoon retired, and spent near three hours on the 
mountain. I went to meet with my Saviour, to tell him of 
all my wanderings and backslidings, to mourn over my 
many sins, to seek his free forgiving love and solemnly to 
dedicate myself to his service. Blessed be his holy name ! 
he was pleased to meet with me in that lonely spot, to give 
me in some measure a contrite and broken heart, to enable 
me to renew my vows to be wholly his. How sweet it was to 
pour out my soul before him in penitential grief, to feel the 
joy of forgiveness and acceptance, to cry "Abba, Father!" 
to say, " I am wholly thine for ever !" Yea, I was enabled 
to believe that he did receive the unworthy offering. I was 
deeply humbled when I remembered how often I had thus 
laid myself upon his altar, and after a time again served 
sin and self, and my earnest entreaty was that now he would 
work a deep and powerful work of grace in my heart ; that 
he would deeply regenerate my nature and evermore keep 
me from falling into sin. Jesus can and will save me from 
every sin if I only abide in him. Oh, Divine Kedeemer, 
thou knowest that I am utter weakness. My only hope is 
in thy almighty power and the riches of thy grace. 

June 8, 1857. — We had a visit from Brother Cochran 
three weeks ago, and you cannot imagine with what joy we 
welcomed him after an interval of five months, during which 
we had not seen the face of missionary brother or sister, nor 
heard the dear accents of our mother tongue save from each 
other's lips. We had a delightful visit and a deeply inter- 
esting communion season — the first when our Nestorian 



KOOEDISTAN EXPLOEED. 223 

brethren united with us, of whom, on this occasion, there 
were eleven. He mentions Deacon Tamo and others, and 
adds : There are four others for whom we have a pretty 
good hope, but we thought best for them to run a while 
longer, that they themselves and we may be better satisfied 
that they are truly in Christ Jesus. Before celebrating the 
Lord's Supper the JSTestorian communicants rose and entered 
into a solemn covenant, taking upon them the vows of God 
and the obligations of a holy life. It was a deeply afiecting 
scene to our hearts. Oh may it be the beginning of good 
things in Koordistan ! We have a weekly prayer-meeting, 
when our lay brethren take part in the devotions. 

God had given his servant the great desire of his heart 
in the removal of rubbish of idolatrous forms and empty 
ceremonies, and the establishment in the mountains of a 
church founded on the Rock which cannot be moved. Had 
his life accomplished no more, it were well spent. We con- 
clude this account by giving the last record we can find 
from his journal for more than four years to come : 

June 10. — Enjoyed for some days SAveet peace. Enabled 
to say continually, Abba, Father, and often to renew my 
covenant vows. To-day had many anxious, perplexing 
thoughts about our native helpers — wages, employment, 
etc. I wish to be strictly conscientious in everything, and 
to imbue them with the same spirit. If every thought 
was in subjection to the obedience of Christ, I should not 
indulge these anxious thoughts, often so dispiriting. Oh 
how manifest that I am not yet made perfect in love ! 
" Lo, I am with you always " has often brought sweet re- 
pose to my bosom, and I have been emboldened by the 
unspeakably precious promise to lay all my affairs before 
Jesus, and in my loneliness here, having no one to con- 
sult with, to seek his guidance and direction. Yes, it 
is my privilege to speak freely with Jesus, my Elder 



224 



TENNESSEE AN IN PEESIA. 



Brother, and I believe he will always make the path of 
duty plain. 

That path led him to Oroomiah for a few delightful 
weeks, including two weeks spent with Dr. Wright in a 
missionary excursion to Bashkollah and Van, and after- 
ward into untold sorrow. 




KOORDISH SHEPHERD OF THE MODNTAINS, IN HIS STIFF FELT COAT. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

AT THE GATE OF HEAVEN. 

aOD has hallowed the mountain-tops. Many he has 
reserved for angels ; some spotless with undefiled snow, 
some melting and flowing down, altars with ever-burning 
fire, into which angels may pass and ascend in his presence. 

Other mountains tolerate the foot of man. God has 
chosen these lower mountains for sanctuaries of most privi- 
leged intercourse — Moriahs, Sinais and Horebs, Hors and 
Nebos, Olivets and Tabors. The Beloved Son has selected 
them for his beatitudes, sermon and prayers, for his trans- 
figuration, crucifixion and ascension. If, then, our Lord 
and Master say, " Get thee up into this mountain," thrice 
blessed art thou if taught by the Comforter implicitly to 
obey. 

Three times God had called Mr. Rhea and his wife un- 
expectedly from the delights of that Persian circle to go 
alone into the mountains. Three times they had obeyed ; 
and now a still greater test of faith was in store for them. 

"Enjoying excellent health," says Dr. Wright, "Mrs. 
Rhea had often expressed the idea that her husband's days 
might be few, and she be left a widow. The main object of 
her visit to Oroomiah had been to cheer and comfort the 
bereaved. She came an angel of mercy, so sweet in temper 
and spirit, her soul so possessed of eternal realities, her 
large, speaking, dark eye so beaming with sympathy and 
compassion. The death of Mr. Stoddard and Harriet had 
led her to drink deeper of the wells of salvation. She had 

225 



226 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

taken a higher stand in divine things. This appeared in 
her gentle, holy walk with God, in her earnest pleas at the 
throne of grace." 

In August, 1857, Mr. Rhea wrote to me: We were absent 
from our home nearly six weeks. More than two weeks 
were taken up by our trip to Bashkollah and Van. It had 
been more than a year since we had visited our good friends 
in Oroomiah, and you can imagine with what keen relish 
we enjoyed it. We are happy to be once more in our own 
home and engaged in our woi^k. We confidently expected 
to hear, by this post, that an associate was appointed for 
us, but we have been disappointed again ; and from the 
tenor of letters received from the Missionary House, we can 
hardly expect to have associates for the coming winter. 
Well! just as the Master pleases. The mountains are 
dearer to him than to us. I think that my strongest de- 
sires are not personal, but that we may be able to carry 
forward more vigorously the work of evangelizing the 
mountains. 

The following touching allusion in the same letter shows 
that in the most heroic the spirit indeed is willing, but the 
flesh is weak : " I accidentally found Martha crying to-day, 
after our mail came, and I half suspect this matter of asso- 
ciates was at the bottom of it. These long, lonely winters 
are rather trying for her ; and, though she has a remarkable 
fund of happy contentedness in her disposition, there are 
times when the prospect of another winter without an asso- 
ciate is rather too much for her. Still, when the time comes 
to be shut in again, I have no doubt she will be as happy 
and contented as any one of her missionary sisters." 

Within a month he wrote the following letter to his 
parents : 

Gawar, September 17, 1857. 

I send you heavy tidings to-day. My dear Martha sleeps 



AT THE GATE OF HEAVEN. 227 

in death ; but I cannot doubt that she still lives in heaven 
with Jesus — a glorified spirit — a companion of angels — per- 
fectly blessed. She sunk sweetly in the arms of Jesus yes- 
terday, September 16, at six o'clock P. M., after a most 
painful illness of many days. 

Oh that I were by your side to weep with you — to have 
you comfort me ! Near where I sit, my dearest earthly 
treasure, my earthly all, lies clothed in the habiliments of 
death. I am as a man struck dumb. I ask. Is it a dream? 
I go and lift the covering, and there lies my darling one, 
cold and pale in death. Sweet face ! so calm, so serene ! 
No more agonizing — no more suffering — thou hast found 
" thy long-sought rest." 

During her long and intense suffering she manifested the 
sweetest spirit of patience and resignation. Not one mur- 
muring word escaped her lips ; not a cloud intervened be- 
tween her and her Saviour. A bright light from his blessed 
face seemed ever beaming down upon her soul. Peace 
passing all understanding took possession of her heart from 
the first. 

We left Oroomiah Wednesday, July 22. On Thursday 
morning, just as we were mounting our horses, Martha was 
taken with a severe pain, which passed off, but returned the 
next day. We went on by easy stages, reaching our home 
safely. The same pain occasionally returned. But on 
Thursday evening, August 20, so intense was the pain that 
the perspiration was bursting from every pore. Gradually, 
however, its severity subsided. Immediately after the last 
attack I sent for Dr. Wright; he, accompanied by Miss 
Rice, reached us the following Friday. He was surprised 
to find her so well. I talked with Dr. Wright particularly 
about her case, and the result was such as to relieve my 
mind of all anxiety. As he was needed in Oroomiah, he 
returned on Monday. At three o'clock a violent paroxysm 



228 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

came on. The pain was intense for several hours, and fol- 
lowed by great prostration. 

J sent for Dr. Wright about an hour after she was taken. 
He reached us the Saturday following, having ridden that 
day sixty-five miles. On Monday, just after breakfast, 
another attack came on, surpassing all previous ones in 
violence. It seemed as if her sufierings were unendurable. 

Monday night, when I asked her, "Is Jesus near, Martha?" 
she replied, " Oh yes, so near ! Whenever my severe pain 
comes on, then Jesus comes and helps me to bear it. Jesus 
will not leave me." Seeing me weeping, she stretched out 
her hand and wiped away the falling tear, saying, " He will 
take care of you ; do not look so sad." 

She uttered many short, fervent, affecting petitions, such 
as, " Jesus, come wash me from all my sins ; make me wholly 
thine." " Oh, what a sinner I have been ! but Jesus is a 
great Saviour ; he is so near, so lovely ! I wonder why I 
never saw him so before. Earth fades away ; this world 
is nothing. I know there is nothing in me, and do not tell 
others what I say, for they will think me holier than I am ; 
but it is all of Christ. It would be so easy to die now — to 
sink into the arms of Jesus !" 

On Tuesday morning she asked what the doctor had said 
about her case. I replied, he spoke of it as critical, but 
still hopefully. She then said, " Well, dear, I am rather 
glad. The thought of death is very pleasant. I have had 
no fear from the first. It seems as if it would help me to 
bear my pains to think of a speedy release ; still it is not 
because I suffer that I wish to die. I want to see Jesus and 
lie at his feet." Seeing me affected, she said, " You know, 
dear, I love you, but we must love Jesus first. It will not 
be long until we all meet. O eternity ! eternity ! how 
short will these moments appear then !" 

On Tuesday night she prayed, " O Jesus, remember thy 



AT THE GATE OF HEAVEN. 229 

sufferings, and, if it is possible, lessen mine ; but not my 
will but thine be done." Again : " Oh, could any one bear 
it better than I ? Perhaps so ; but Jesus groaned, being in 
agony." Speaking of heaven : " Oh, that home ! No more 
sin, nor sorrow, nor restlessness !" 

I asked her once if she had any doubt. She replied, 
" No ; none at all. I do not know why Jesus comforts such 
a poor sinner as I have been. All is bright, and calm, and 
peaceful. Not because of anything in me ; all is of Jesus. 
He knows I could not bear my sufferings if he did not 
come near me ! When I am easier, then I do not think so 
much of being happy as to see if indeed my feet are on the 
Rock. Then it is no matter about joy ; that will come just 
as my Saviour pleases ; but when I am suffering it relieves 
me, soothes me, to talk of Jesus and the joy he gives me. 
Then I think more of being happy, and Jesus gives me 

joy." 

Once she asked Dr. Wright, " How long do you think I 
could live and suffer so ?" To his reply that he did not 
know certainly, but not long, she said, " My sufferings will 
end. What if they were eternal ?" 

I do not think there could be a richer exhibition of the 
power of Divine grace to sustain and cheer the suffering 
saint while racked with agonizing pains. Oh, if I could 
only forget how she looked when those pangs were upon 
her ; but God has taken her where there shall be no more 
pain. Oh, how tenderly she won upon our love by her 
gratitude and her anxiety lest some one of us should get 
sick by waiting upon her. 

The last book which we read together, about two weeks 
before her death, was the Memoir of Richard Williams of 
the Patagonian mission, illustrating in a wonderful manner 
the power of the love of Jesus to fill the heart with joy un- 
speakable and full of glory amidst scenes of deepest dis- 



230 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

tress. She alluded more than once to it during her illness, 
and I doubt not it had its influence in kindling into so 
bright a flame her love to Jesus. 

On Monday morning, September 14, her first words to me 
were : " Oh, what sweet thoughts I had of Jesus. I am so 
afraid I shall lose the sweetness of his name if I get well ; 
but he can help me so that I shall love its savor even amid 
the busy cares of life." 

Again : " For many days, when I was feeling a little 
better, I was satisfied to come back and live ; if I might 
grow in grace every day it might be as well to live as to 
die ; but oh it would be sweet to die and be with Jesus, 
and never sin any more. You will not think that I do not 
love you." 

" I want my brothers and sisters to know that I never 
had a wish that I had not come to the Nestorians. I re- 
joice that I could labor for them a little while." 

During the day, when able to converse, her words were 
full of heaven and her heart of tenderness for friends pres- 
ent and absent. The night was one of pain and restless- 
ness. Tuesday she spoke little, being for two hours racked 
with agony. 

Wednesday morning she was beyond all hope of recovery. 
All day long I sat by her, fanning her. She wished me 
where she could see me when she opened her eyes. ' There 
I sat and prayed hour after hour. I took my Bible ; open- 
ing it, my eyes fell upon the words, " And when he would 
no longer be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the 
Lord be done." It flashed upon my mind that I had been 
hoping against hope ; that I was trying to persuade the 
Lord, but he would not be persuaded. 

Once, in the forenoon, I asked her, " Martha, is Jesus 
near ? " She promptly replied, " Oh yes ! " and as often 
as I asked her, this was her reply. I asked her if she could 



AT THE GATE OF HEAVEN. 231 

join in a soft, gentle prayer? She said, "I am too faint; 
I can only pray a word or two at a time." Opening her 
eyes once, she looked steadily at me and said, "Thank 
Jesus that he does not leave me." All day the native 
women were coming taking a last look, and passing out, sob- 
bing bitterly. 

It was now evident that our dear one was struggling with 
death. Seeing me weep, she beckoned me to bend over her. 
She threw her arms around my neck and tenderly embraced 
me. This was her last farewell. As I bent over her to 
catch her words, seeing the tears streaming from my eyes, 
she quickly put her hand to her eyes and motioned as if 
she would have me dry them. Not long after, she said, 
" My thoughts are very clear, but I cannot express them." 
Her hearing was perfect until about the last, and when her 
power of speech failed, by a nod of the head or gentle pres- 
sure of the hand she could say, " Jesus is near ! " 

The last rays of the setting sun were touching the tops of 
the mountain. The curtain blew aside and the fading 
light fell upon her face ; she opened her eyes, looked at me a 
moment^a few more gentle breaths, and she was in heaven. 

Thus sweetly passed away my dear Martha. How near 
heaven seemed at that moment ! I had followed her even 
to the gates. She passed in — I stood without, weeping. 
Oh, how I did long to pass in with her. What raptures 
filled her bosom when for the first time her eyes fell upon 
the glorious person of her Redeemer ! What a change ! 
One moment gasping, dying — the next crowned with glory, 
honor, immortality and eternal life! We had lived all 
alone nearly three years. In each other we had found a 
joy and a solace that made us forget our lonely situation. 
Our hearts were one. Hand in hand we walked together, 
seldom dreaming of a day of bereavement. It seemed as 
if one could not exist without the other, No words can tell 



232 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

you of my loss. God only knows. A heart more tender 
in its love, nobler in all its feelings, never beat. Her love 
to me was the purest and most ardent, and her dear hands 
were ever engaged in some way to make my home happy. 
Pray much for your bereaved and deeply-stricken son. 
None but Jesus can help me in this hour. All day Thurs- 
day our home was filled with weeping ; many scores of the 
poor women and children, with their husbands and brothers, 
and with them many Koords, came to look at her calm and 
sweet face. Many wept as if their hearts would break. 
They had lost a friend — one who was ever going about 
among them to do them good. On Friday, at twelve 
o'clock, I followed the remains of my beloved wife to the 
grave. Religious services were held in the village church 
— it was crowded to overflowing. Dr. Wright addressed 
the people very tenderly. At the grave Deacon Tamo again 
addressed the people, and prayed in a touching manner for 
the stricken husband and the far-ofi" kindred, and the pre- 
cious remains were committed to the bosom of the earth. 
She sleeps in the little enclosure on the hill by the village 
church, just under the little willow which I brought from 
Oroomiah and planted, that it might cast its shade upon 
the sacred spot. 

Says Dr. Perkins: "This was a very unexpected and 
crushing blow to Mr. Rhea ; but he was supported under it. 
Nor was he left friendless in that sorrowful visitation. Miss 
Rice tenderly nursed his suffering wife during the last weeks 
of her sickness ; and Dr. Wright, ' the beloved physician,' 
was there during the last few days. Mrs. Stoddard and 
myself were hastening to them, in the apprehension of a 
fatal termination of the disease, when we were met by a 
messenger, midway, who announced to us Mrs. Rhea's death. 
The shock of these mournful tidings but quickened our pace; 
yet the grave had just closed over the remains of that be- 



AT THE GATE OF HEAVEN. 233 

loved missionary sister when we reached the desolate 
dwelling. 

" Missionary duties required Dr. Wright and myself to 
hasten back to Oroomiah, while Mrs. Stoddard and Miss 
Rice lingered a week or two, to comfort and assist Mr. Rhea, 
who then returned with them. 

" The self-denials, the trials and the sore bereavements 
which had so thickly beset Mr. Rhea's path during the 
more than six years of his missionary life and labors in 
Koordistan were far enough from diminishing his interest 
in that arduous field. God had given him very precious 
fruits of his toils there, though baptized in tears ; and the 
two missionary graves on the hill in the Memikan church- 
yard were strong magnets to bind him the more firmly to 
the mountain work. His missionary brethren at Oroomiah, 
however, deemed it quite inexpedient for him to pass the 
following winter at his post alone. By their urgent advice 
he concluded to itinerate and journey through the moun- 
tains to Mosul, and spend the winter with the missionaries 
at that station." 

Mr. Rhea wrote : 

Gawar, September 25, 1857. 

Deak Brother Marsh : When you were writing to me, 
September ] 6, my dear wife was just on the verge of heaven. 
She sunk sweetly in the arms of Jesus at six P. M. Oh, 
my dear brother, I have no words to tell you of my grief, 
my sorrow, my bereavement! When I look long at myself, 
or my desolate home, or the objects that are every moment 
calling up so vividly the dear departed, I feel that I have 
no strength to drink the cup which God has given me. I 
know you will pray for me. Having been so near heaven, 
how near ought I henceforth to live ! I never needed your 
prayers so much as now, and I know you will ask from 
Jesus all needed grace for me. 
20 « 



234 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

October 26. — I am often able, in the midst of tears and 
the bleeding of a deeply wounded heart, to look up and 
say, " Thou art mine and I am thine for ever ;" but not 
always. Oh pray for me that I may enjoy the uninter- 
rupted light of his countenance ; for there are times when 
all around me seems very dark. But I will trust him. 
The cup which my Father gives me I will drink. 

You have drunk the cup of sorrow, but not so deeply. 
Oh may God spare you this ! I think you would drink it 
with a sweeter spirit of resignation. But he knows I have 
never murmured. I have fallen at his feet and in silence 
poured out there my tears of grief — I trust of contrition — 
but no murmuring word has ever escaped my lips. I hope 
I shall be able to say, It was good for me to be afflicted ; 
but as yet I dare not. I know the deep treachery of my 
heart. For many days after the loved one of my heart was 
buried out of my sight I was overwhelmed and crushed to 
the earth. I was bewildered. But I remembered that no 
chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous ; neverthe- 
less, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteous- 
ness unto them which are exercised thereby. 

My home is desolate. Every object wears a bereaved 
look. I shrink away from this deep loneliness — from the 
objects which are every moment bringing the dear departed 
so vividly before me, and still I cling to them. I long to 
remain here, and still I fear the effects of a long winter of 
solitude. Every object that my eye lights upon only sug- 
gests the greatness of my loss, and when I walk abroad I 
am not able to divert my thoughts ; for there is not a path 
which her feet had not trodden with me, nor a flower her 
hand had not culled, nor a scene of beauty or sublimity 
which we had not enjoyed together. I often find it too 
much for me to visit the hallowed spot where she sleeps. 
Oh it seemed cruel to lay that loved form in the ground 



AT THE GATE OF HEAVEN. 235 

and heap the earth upon it ! But I will not think of that. 
I will think of her as clad in the white robes of her Re- 
deemer's righteousness, and with the golden harp singing 
and celebrating his wondrous love. I will think of her as 
free from pain and sin — as standing at the portals of glory 
and beckoning me to come up higher. I will think of that 
blessed day when, as she said, " We will fall together at 
the feet of Jesus !" 

But I beg pardon. I did not intend to intrude my grief 
upon you. 

I accompanied Mrs. Stoddard and Miss Rice to Oroomiah, 
and spent a few days with the kind friends there. I felt 
strengthened by their prayers and sympathies. My friends 
seemed very unwilling that I should pass the winter here 
alone. The idea of spending the winter in Oroomiah would 
be a very pleasant one if I should follow mere selfish incli- 
nations. While Oroomiah is well supplied, the poor moun- 
tains are without shepherds. In the providence of God I 
am the only one directly responsible for looking after these 
lost sheep. How can I withdraw from them. 

Seeing, however, that the friends in Oroomiah felt so 
strongly about my remaining here alone, I proposed to 
them to spend the winter upon the other side of the moun- 
tains — a part of the time in Mosul, and touring in Amidiah, 
Botan, and in fact among Nestorian villages wherever they 
could be found in that region and reached in the winter 
season. This struck them favorably. It has seemed to 
me that by going over to your side I should still be identi- 
fied with my own field, and would be able to do far more 
for the mountain Nestorians than if in Oroomiah or Gawar. 
I have felt, too, that I must see our helpers in T'khoma, 
and, if possible, give the work an impulse there by opening 
schools. If suitable young men can be obtained, it is my 
plan to plant two helpers in Amidiah. 



236 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

My home, though desolate, is dear — of all others the 
dearest place. But after this fall of snow it seems clear 
that it is best for me to go on the other side of the moun- 
tains. I went a short distance with Brother Cochran (on 
his return). We were an hour and a half going to a village 
twenty minutes distant. I suppose he told you what a fall 
of snow we had on the twenty-first and twenty-second of this 
month (October) — three and one-half feet ! Half, at least, 
of the harvest in Gawar is under the snow. Hundreds will 
probably go down to Oroomiah, and also to the plains west 
of the mountains. This little village will be half depopu- 
lated. If I desired to keep our boarding-school open, it 
would be impossible to buy the necessary provisions. 

I shall leave Gawar probably next week. It is uncertain 
when I may reach Mosul. I hope ere this you have 
greeted your associates. We have sympathized with you 
in your loneliness and in the heavy burdens resting upon 
you. We now wish to rejoice with you. Oh, that your 
little band might long be an unbroken one ! If they have 
come, I wish with all my heart to welcome them. 

The very day that Mr. Rhea wrote this long letter to me — 
extracts from which only are given above — October 26, 
1857, I started from Mosul to welcome those associates 
from America in Diarbekir, and with them form plans for 
our Assyrian mission. We left Diarbekir November 17, 
1857 ; Dr. and Mrs. Haskell and myself upon one raft of 
inflated goat-skins, and Mr. and Mrs. Williams on the other, 
with our necessary raftsmen and attendants, to float down 
the Tigris. It was like a week's pleasure-excursion, with 
grand scenery for two hundred and ninety miles. We 
reached Mosul November 25. Before another month Mr. 
Rhea had completed his mountain tour. Meantime the 
whole party remained our guests, for before Mr. Williams 
could move into his house Mrs. Williams was taken ill, and 



AT THE GATE OF HEAVEN. 



237 



grew worse and worse, and still worse, and when Mr. Rhea 
arrived her case was alarming. He came a welcome angel. 




KELLEK, OK RAPT OF INFLATED GOAT-SKINS, ON THE TIGRIS. 

I extract from his letter after his arrival : 

Mosul, Dec. 19, 1857. 

My Dear Father: ... I am now a homeless wan- 
derer. Be it so, if I may only keep my face continually set 
toward the gate of that city which hath foundations whose 
builder and maker is God ! 

I had a most toilsome journey through the mountains 
owing to the lateness of the season. I came very near being 
shut in by the deep snows and made a prisoner in one of 
the mountain valleys. I lingered just as long as I could, 
preaching the precious gospel to large and attentive 
audiences. I expect to go up in a few days to Amidiah 
(seventy miles), and may open a school there. If not, I 
shall spend the winter in traveling among the Nestorian 
villages on this side of the mountains. 

I found our friends in Mosul in affliction. Mrs. Williams 
is dangerously ill. The Lord grant her healing mercies. 

How joyous the meeting, when, on November 25th, the 



238 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

new-comers, safe and well, sat down with us, a Mosul mis- 
sion band of seven adults and five children ! How sad, on 
Christmas day, after its long hours of light had passed 
away, and as toward midnight we gathered about the bed- 
side of our Sister Williams, just a moment after the spirit 
had taken its flight ! A month to a day, and how reversed 
the picture! How sad, sad, sad! Yet it was Christmas 
day, and some of the same angels who sang to the shep- 
herds came and bore with song a forgiven spirit up to Him 
whose birth they sang. 

Mr. Rhea writes again to his parents : 

Mosul, Dec. 28, 1857, 
Can you imagine a more distressing case of afliiction ? 
Oh, what mean these strokes so thick and fast upon God's 
missionary servants in this part of the world? We are as 
one large family. We feel toward each other, I think some- 
times, even more tenderly than toward our kindred in the 
flesh, and it seems as if there was always a death in the family. 
We are scarcely recovered from one stroke until anotlier 
falls upon our broken band. What does God intend by 
these strange dealings ? Does he intend by thus thinning 
and wasting our rainks to drive us from the field of labor 
to which we thought we heard his voice bidding us go and 
preach his gospel ? It seems very dark, very dark indeed ; 
but still it is our Father's doing, and he doeth all things 
well. We will trust him in the dark. 

Mr. Rhea did not linger idly with us in Mosul. From 
our comparatively mild climate again he plunged back into 
winter snows ; from our city of safety and comfort into the 
danger of strange mountain roads, wild Koords, Yezidees 
(devil-worshipers) and mountain Nestorians ; from our 
little American colony, to solitary service for Christ. He 
wrote to me five letters during that month of January, and 



AT THE GATE OF HEAVEN. 239 

tiiey show him going from village to village, starting a 
school at Deira near Amidiah, and everywhere preaching 
the word. 

No one who has not been over the ground can imagine 
the endurance of hardness and the self-denial involved. In 
those mountain huts he writes, " in haste, by a dying light ;" 
but often utters such thoughts as these : 

" The idea of a complete redemption from sin is at times 
most ravishing ; but that day seems so far distant. Why 
these longings for purity and holiness if they are never to 
be realized on earth ? Why is Jesus called a Redeemer if 
he does not save from the power of sin in this life ? The 
question of personal holiness is yet to stir the heart of the 
Church to its depth ; there is no question about which I feel 
so nauch perplexed, and none upon which I long so much 
for light." 

On the Sabbath his servant gathered the Tall people from 
Amidiah market. " These, with the T'khoma people and a 
few ISTestorians from this town, almost filled the room. The 
mountaineers are rather wild, and it reminded me of some 
of the boys' meetings in New York, but they soon became 
quiet and gave very good attention throughout the service. 
Such opportunities for making known the precious love of 
Christ do much to relieve my loneliness here, and comfort 
me amid those desolate feelings which will sometimes storm 
my soul and threaten to swallow me up." 

January 26. — He writes us from Shermin, speaks of his 
path disappeai'ing in falling snow, of his horse with snow 
up to his knees ploughing through it "manfully" and 
" opening a path for the mules," of coming unexpectedly 
upon a Moslem village where no dog barked, and found a 
village of Sofees "so holy that they had banished all the 
dog tribe," yet he read to his well-pleased Sofee host the 
Sermon on the Mount. He asks at one time, " What Nes- 



240 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

torian village did not Dr. Grant find ? " yet himself preached 
the gospel on that tour in one a missionary had never visited 
before. At Usyan, where he found forty families, three 
priests and ten deacons, he " spent a delightful Sabbath." 
" It was the first Sabbath in my new year, the thirty-first 
of my life, and I shall always remember it as one of the 
happiest. Oh shall I meet any of those precious souls in 
heaven ? After leaving the village, two young men — dea- 
cons — came after me, saying they wished to read in the 
school at Deira." 

Of a Sabbath in Bebadi he writes : " The air seemed as 
balmy as spring and I sat out on the roof for several hours. 
I had an audience of fifty persons ; among them a number 
of women. I tried to point them to the Lamb of God that 
taketh away the sin of the world. It was a tender theme, 
and many were melted to tears. The people of Bebadi 
seem very teachable." 

In February, 1858, he called upon us in Mosul, and I 
joined him for three weeks in a tour toward Amidiah, and 
then to Jebal Tour, above Jezireh, on the Tigris. We went 
into the mountains till the snows absolutely barred our 
farther progress. An idea of some of the roads may be 
formed by attempting to ride on a stone wall with snow 
breast-deep on either side, and often no path visible. 
Every night we found audiences. Our quarters were as 
wretched, with smoke, cattle under the same roof and fleas, 
as can well be imagined ; but the work was blessed. 

At one time, near Azakh, where my Arabic took the 
place of his modern Syriac, we found a swollen torrent, 
from melting snows, where usually no water runs, and it 
bore Rover, with me on his back, down full two rods ; but 
fortunately, by God's blessing, I kept his head up stream, 
and he was not thrown down ; and the noble animal (a true 
Arab) bore me through safely. 



AT THE GATE OF HEAVEN. 



241 



In all that tour I saw the life and work of Mr. Rhea 
with new admiration for his tact and power, and I trust 
with new sympathy for his self-denying and Christ-like 
spirit. No difficulty or hardship deterred him. His 
body seemed far enough from Paradise, but his soul hourly 
waiting at heaven's gate. 




KOOEMSH CASTLE OP KOSH AB, MAHMOODITAH. 



21 



CHAPTER XVII. 

(185S-1859.) 

ALONG THE TIGRIS — OVER TO PERSIA — BACK TO AMI- 
DIAH — AGAIN TO PERSIA. 

"VrO missionary to Persia, not even Dr. Grants ever 
-Li searched out the whole Nestorian field both in Persia 
and Turkey, so thoroughly visiting again and again every 
nook and corner, as did Mr Rhea. His trials as well as his 
joys directed him to this great work. Everywhere he bore 
the Bible and other works of the press in Oroomiah, and 
located, directed and encouraged the native helpers. 

The outline of a fruitful year is given at the head of this 
chapter. Let us enjoy the filling up from Mr. Rhea's own pen : 

To Mr. Coan, April 13, from Mosul : Three weeks ago, 
as Mr. Williams and I were walking on the banks of the 
Tigris, we saw two black objects slowly descending the river, 
Watching them, our curiosity was increased when we found 
they had houses on them, and it was not long till we were 
satisfied that they were the rafts containing our Diarbekir 
friends. A few moments more and they landed, and we were 
exchanging happy greetings. The party consisted of Mr. and 
Mrs. Walker and little Freddie, three months old. Dr. and 
Mrs. Nutting and Annie Nutting, and Mr. and Mrs. Knapp. 

Mrs. Walker was sister of Mrs. Williams, who on Christ- 
mas day left us lamenting, and now the living of our little 
band wept and rejoiced together. 

With the opening spring Mr. Rhea started on his return 
to Gawar, accompanying some of the families of the Eastern 
242 



ALONG THE TiaRIS. 243 

Turkey mission a few days up the river Tigris on their re- 
turn to their respective homes in old Assyria, and admin- 
istering essentially to their relief and comfort in the case of 
a sick one of the traveling company. The Rev. Mr. Knapp, 
then on his way to Bitlis, says : " On our four days' journey 
from Mosul to Jezireh my wife became disabled, and had 
to be borne for upward of forty miles on a litter carried by 
eight Jews. As I knew not their language, I had to depend 
upon Mr. Rhea to guide us through that desert with those ob- 
stinate men. He endeared himself exceedingly to our hearts 
by the wonderful degree of patience he exhibited during those 
two trying days. Well do Ave remember how often those 
weary litter-bearers ruthlessly thrust the litter, with its agon- 
ized burden, upon the ground, positively refusing to bear it 
another inch. Our patient friend would again and again 
rally them by putting his own shoulder to the heavy bur- 
den, and thus showing them an example of kind endurance 
in hours of severe fatigue. The strength of our attachment 
to him grew stronger in proportion to the severity of our 
distress. He did not desert us. When at length all danger 
was passed and we were forced to part with him, we shed 
tears of gratitude as we watched his form receding among 
the rugged mountains, the scene of his missionary labors. 
An own brother, or even a parent, could not have shown 
us greater sympathy than did he during those anxious 
days." 

He left them just where Xenophon left the Tigris. A 
few days later Mr. Rhea wrote to me from those mountains : 

Shakh, April 28, 1858. 
I parted from our good friends where the road turned up 
to Mar Yohanan. I am seated to-night where we were 
seated together more than four years ago — in the church- 
yard. I have had a very attentive congregation of thirty 
persons. I have been much pleased with the young bishop, 



244 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

Mar Yoseph. He seems to be quite studious, desirous of 
acquiring a knowledge of the Scriptures and of teaching 
his people. How much I would give if I could only in- 
duce him to spend a winter or two in Oroomiah ! I do 
hope the Lord will fully enlighten him and make him a 
great blessing to Botan. The prospect improves ; the school 
numbers thirteen, besides six young men who read* with 
Ishak on the Sabbath. I would hope with trembling that 
Yohanan and Tamo are new men in Christ Jesus. They 
appear well, and have suffered much for Christ's sake. 
Ishak is a precious jewel. I bless God for such a light in 
Botan." 

Those who do not despise the day of small things will 
know how such testimony from Brother Rhea refreshed my 
heart. When alone, during my first year at Mosul, I had 
taken the responsibility of sending Ishak, then a lad, over 
to Persia to be educated. He had been hopefully con- 
verted there. Often from Mosul I had visited the Botan 
field. Just after Bishop Yoseph, not then of age, had been 
made a bishop, I found him one day in that churchyard 
at Shakh, alone, with a little manuscript book, to which he 
was adding proof-texts against Protestants. Deacon Eremia 
and myself talked and prayed with him, rejoicing that for 
any purpose he was studying the word of God. Still later, 
after Mr. Rhea's visit, the bishop and Ishak were so de- 
sirous of communing with our little church in Mosul that 
they came the long journey to Mosul, were examined and 
joined us in celebrating the dying love of Christ. Both 
have since witnessed a good profession. Mr. Rhea adds : 
" I now set my face toward Amidiah." 

From Dayree, Amidiah, May 8, 1858, he alludes to the 
robbery of his muleteer: "He came well enough until 
within two hours of the town of Amidiah, when he stopped 
with a caravan in a kind of cave. About dusk a band of 



ALONG THE TIGEIS. 245 

armed men, about ten in number, rushed suddenly into the 
cave, or rather under a great overhanging rock, at once 
bound the eyes of all the men of the caravan and tied their 
hands behind them. They emptied my traveling-bags of 
their contents, and took away the most valuable part of my 
wardrobe and a number of valuable books, with a number 
of articles of my attendants, amounting in value to about 
one hundred and seventy-five dollars. The men who at- 
tacked were Koords. Wandering parties are abroad ; the 
bolder, as they are soon to return to their high pasture- 
grounds near Gawar. Selim Agha is a famous robber." In 
the list of lost articles, that of books is worthy of note: 
"two large account-books, in which all my accounts are 
kept; one Life of Martyn; one McCosh on the Divine 
Government ; one Septuagint ; one Hebrew Bible, written 
through in notes, meanings of words — and had probably 
spent a year of time upon it, and valued it highly." 

After futile efforts to secure his lost books, priceless from 
association, he proceeded into the great mountains and 
passed through T'khoma, delaying there with favorable 
opportunity to preach. He toiled on through the moun- 
tains by T'khoma and Julamerk, and, June 11, he writes 
to me again from Gawar: I reached my home May 12. 
We feel anxious to hear how you made that long journey 
to Mardin, and how the ladies and little folks endured its 
toils. I spent some very pleasant days in Dayree in the 
shade of those fine old walnuts, though the cause of my 
detention was not the most agreeable. I was trying to find 
the thieves who plundered my brave muleteer, your old 
friend Mentor. Guergis jokingly said to him at Tel Keif, 
" They will stop you on the way." Seizing his dagger, he 
replied, somewhat indignantly, " Then why have I stuck 
this in my belt ?" Poor fellow ! How crestfallen he was 
when I met him ! He looked as if he had been sick a 



246 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

twelvemonth, so hardly had his great fright worn upon 
him. I suppose you can see the brave old Falstaff, and 
picture to yourself how he would deport himself among the 
thieves. He acknowledged that he told the Koords to take 
his load (a good haul, too), if only they would let him go. 

I came up yesterday from Oroomiah. The other day I 
rode down from Seir, and Brother Cochran in his carriage, 
with his wife and five little chicks all dressed in white, came 
driving up and singing, "There is a happy land." It really 
seemed as if one of the chariots from above had come down. 

God willing, I go down again in three weeks, to be' there 
at the departure of our friends for America. I look forward 
to it as a very sad day. I would gladly escape it. How 
often I long for your joyous soul ! Partings try me sorely. 
I can't bear them. I do not think enough of the glorious 
meetings just beyond. And is it not a very precious hope 
that we shall all one day be gathered in our Father's house? 
A brief moment, as the apostle would say — just a brief mo- 
ment — and then the eternal weight of glory ! 

But shall I ever get home ? I may prove a castaway. 
That always seemed to me one of the saddest words in the 
New Testament. A castaway ! Plain old Saxon ! How 
touching ! how solemn ! 

I sit in our dining-room and look out upon the plain — a 
scene of rare loveliness ; but Martha is not with me, and 
my heart is too heavy to enjoy it alone. I thought if I 
could only keep busy I should forget my loneliness ; but 
there does not seem a moment when I am not conscious 
that my heart has been crushed and emptied of all but the 
sometimes trembling hope that God is my God and I am 
his child. I find myself continually thinking that dear 
Martha is sitting in our little bed-room, just where she 
always sat, and still I know it is not so ; and I strangely 
go to the door and look in, and then chide myself. 



ALONG THE TIGRIS. 247 

I do long and pray that these quiet days may be richly 
blessed to me. Martha's grave is a very dear spot. Oh 
it was such a relief, after my long absence, to bow there 
and pour out my soul before Him who smote me ! 

Gawar, July 25, 1858. 

I reached my home yesterday from Oroomiah, the only 
object of my journey there being to bid farewell to Father 
Perkins, our good Sisters Stoddard and Fisk, and our young 
friends Lucy, Katy and Sarah. They left us Thursday, 
July 15. It was a sad day in our circle — a sad day to 
many Nestorian hearts. At an early hour the courts were 
filled with hundreds of Nestorian friends, men and women, 
who had come from all parts of the plain and from distant 
villages. 

Just at noon all the mission sat down to dinner at Mr. 
Coan's. It was rather a flow of tears than a " flow of soul." 
Dinner over, Mr. Breath made a few very appropriate re- 
marks on the one hundred and twentieth Psalm ; then 
kneeling down, he led our devotions as we all bore our de- 
parting friends with swelling hearts into the arms of Infinite 
Love. 

"We then pi'oceeded to the chapel, now overflowing with 
Nestorians, to have with them a parting word, a parting 
prayer. Mr. Perkins, much overcome and in a very affect- 
ing manner, took leave of the bishops, priests, helpers and 
all assembled. Tears flowed freely. Probably there was 
no dry eye in that large assembly. 

The party started at once — the ladies in Mr. Cochran's 
wagon, to go as far as Gavalan, the girls in cajavas, the 
rest on horseback. A large crowd followed on for two 
miles, with many words of sympathy and invoking many 
prayers upon their departing friends. They halted a few 
minutes to give the Nestorians an opportunity of again say- 
ing farewell. 



248 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

Mr. Cochran and myself accompanied the party as far 
as Salmas, spent the Sabbath Avith them, and took leave 
early Monday morning. 

Dr. Perkins says: " Mr. Rhea proceeded to Oroomiah just 
in time to see me on the eve of my departure for America, 
in July, 1858. He then submitted to me for inspection a 
few sheets of a commentary which he had commenced on 
the Gospel of Matthew. I have hardly seen it surpassed in 
all the desirable attributes of a concise, rich and finished 
commentary. He now possessed the rarest and highest 
qualifications for every department of missionary labor. 
He was learned in ancient and Oriental lore, a writer of the 
finest style, prompt and efficient as a man of business, and 
a prince among preachers. 

"Mr. Rhea kindly accompanied the departing band 
three days on our journey, and spent the Sabbath with us 
at the last Nestorian village, in Salmas. How sweet was 
our communion, during those last days, in the expectation 
that our next meeting would be in heaven, though the fact 
proved otherwise !" 

The name of Eshoo, the brother of Tamo, will be remem- 
bered. To Dr. Perkins Mr. Rhea wrote : " You will be pained 
to hear of the death of our good old father Eshoo. He fell 
asleep — as I trust — in Jesus last Friday morning. His 
disease was bilious fever. I never saw any one so violently 
attacked. As he took his bed he remarked, ' I have no fear 
of death, not the least.' He spoke of his strong confidence 
in the Saviour and the good hope of salvation he had 
through grace. During his lucid intervals he was continu- 
ally praying, not so much for health, as for grace, pardon, 
sanctification and meetness for heaven. Once he said to 
me, ' Perhaps I shall see Khanum ;' another time he said, 
'Let me ascend and see my Saviour, and Guergis and 
Khanum (" lady," i. e., Mrs. Rhea.) It was remarked by all 



ALONG THE TIGRIS. 249 

that lie seemed to be rapidly growing ripe for heaven this 
summer. I never witnessed such a scene of lamentation as 
we had the night of his death. I never saw Deacon Tamo 
give himself up so entirely to grief. The plaintive elegies 
which he sang impromptu as he hung upon the lifeless re- 
mains were very affecting. 

" I feel very much as if I had lost a father. There was no 
Nestorian toward whom I felt a deeper attachment. There 
was a simplicity and artlessness, a depth of tenderness and 
kindliness in his natural character, but more than all he 
loved the Saviour with an unusual depth and warmth of 
affection." 

He soon passed through the mountains again as far as to 
Amidiah. He there met the archbishop of the Jacobite 
Church, banished from Mosul, to whom in his distress he 
rendered some assistance. 

October 26. — Having made the long return journey to 
Persia, he writes to Dr. Perkins from " Mt. Seir, Persia : 
Yesterday a thrill of joy ran through every heart here. 
What a flood of letters ! Thank you, thank you for all 
your kind letters to me. I was already in debt. How 
delightful the privilege of canceling such debts ! I unite 
with you first in thanksgivings for all that love and mercy 
which went before and accompanied you and the dear sis- 
ters and children every step of your way." And so he 
goes on charmingly. We cannot omit an extract as to the 
reason of his visit to Persia : " I came down to consult with 
the brethren about my location for the winter. We hear 
that Mr. Ambrose has actually sailed, but he will probably 
not reach us until after the middle of November. The mis- 
sion meet this afternoon. I offer my services to go to Ami- 
diah and labor this winter to be joined by Mr. Ambrose 
early in the spring." 



250 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

October 29, from Gawar: I wrote you a hurried note 
from Amidiah, I then confidently hoped to spend the win- 
ter there ; but my brethren, while they feel the great im- 
portance of occupying that post, do not consent to my being 
there alone. My heart-trouble seems to grow upon me. 
Dr. Wright thinks it best for me to spend the winter 
quietly in Oroomiah, and derive what benefit there is to be 
had from his counsel and aid. 

I felt disappointed in not being able to carry out my 
plan ; but if it is the will of the Master that I remain in 
Oroomiah this winter, I must be contented to do sa. The 
society of those dear friends will be very pleasant and cheer- 
ing to me after having been so much alone in the moun- 
tains. 

Under the same date Mr. Rhea wrote to us, hoping that 
we had returned safely to Mosul from Mardin, two hun- 
dred miles north-west. 

Friends in Hartford, her birth-place, had presented to 
Mrs. Marsh a superior melodeon. It had crossed Atlantic 
and Mediterranean safely to Smyrna, then by steamer safely 
to Scanderoon, thence through Aleppo, across the Euphrates, 
past Abraham's birth-place, and by the Tigris at Diarbekir. 
It had come out of the gates of Diarbekir, and was approach- 
ing Mardin. Its eight thousand miles of sea and land were 
safely completed to its very last stage. It had only once 
laore to be lifted on to a mule's back to reach its expectant 
mistress in Mardin. When the melodeon should have ap- 
peared there, the muleteer entered and placed a bag down 
with about a bushel of screws, hinges, rods, and the lock 
and key. His brother, left in charge while he tended the 
mules, had probably lain down smoking; and, at any rate, 
when he returned from his mules he found his brother 
asleep and the box burning up ! This will explain Mr. 
Khea's allusions in the following letter to us : 



ALONG THE TIGEIS. 251 

" Very many thanks, and I hope this letter will find you 
and dear Wallie well and happy in your old home, none 
the less dear after your toilsome journeys and unsettled 
summer life. It was a great undertaking, that of yours, 
and if you are really home again, all safe, I shall join you 
in thanksgiving. How much seed you must have sown in 
that virgin soil ! How many prayers you offered that the 
Lord would give the increase! And he will. Your sojourn 
there, I firmly believe, will be one day ascertained to be 
the instrumentality which God used to gather some of his 
jewels from the city of Mardin — perhaps some of those poor 
women. I have come to the conclusion that the world is 
not to be converted by telegraphs and steam and plenipo- 
tentiaries and pills, but by prayer. And oh how little, and 
how feebly and faithlessly and miserably we have prayed ! 
Who of us can lay his hand upon his heart and say, I have 
prayed as I ought for my own soul, my servants, the dying 
about me ? Oh sometimes I think I ought to spend whole 
days, and often too, in prayer for those for whom I am 
directly responsible ! Has not the fallow ground at many 
a point been broken up in these lands? and why should not 
the great awakening extend even unto us? 

" Thank you, Mrs. Marsh, for the beautiful hymns to 
which you called my attention. I shall always hereafter 
associate them with your name, and sing them with a new 
interest. I always feel sad when I think of the ignoble end 
to which your melodeon came. Just to think of that beau- 
tiful rosewood crackling in the flames, and all those melli- 
fluous susceptibilities and capabilities ending in smoke ! 
Mine stands mute and sorrowful in our little bedroom, 
more than almost everything else speaking to my heart of 
dear Martha. Oh, shall I ever sing with her the new song 
in heaven?" 

December 9, 1858, he writes to me : I left Gawar upon 



252 TENNESSEEAN IN PBESIA. 

the arrival of your messenger from Mosul, and am now 
pleasantly situated at Seir (near Oroomiah), in the family 
of Mr. Cochran, the only family now at Seir, What 
changes since the last winter I spent here ! My work will 
be aiding Brother Cochran in the seminary during the 
week, preaching in the villages of Baradost on the Sab- 
bath. I am happy to announce the arrival of my associate, 
Mr. Ambrose, a capital man for the mountain field. 

About this time, in a letter to Dr. Perkins, he mentions 
that he had recently spent three weeks in Gawar, and that 
he had not strength to teach two hours in the seminary, 
and was obliged to take but one. He also experienced for 
a few days so much trouble with his head that he feared he 
might have to throw up study entirely for a time. He was 
at work upon the Minor Prophets and Romans, and in his 
commentary had reached the twenty-seventh chapter of 
Matthew. The year (1858) closes with the earnest thought, 
" We work for coming ages ;" and the winter months of 
the new year, 1859, find him longing for a revival, and 
believing in "a higher life soon to he poured through the 
nations." 

March 24, 1859, from Seir, he says : Probably before 
I hear from you again I shall have taken leave of my 
missionary field and be on my way to America. You are 
aware that I have been for some years troubled with a car- 
diac difficulty. It has increased upon me ; and what I had 
hoped was merely temporary and likely to yield to remedies 
employed here, now threatens to be organic in its character. 
Dr. Wright feels perfectly clear that I ought to leave for 
America at once and seek the best medical aid. This was 
quite unexpected to me ; but I have no doubt it is best for 
me to follow his advice, though by no means sanguine as 
to any aid I may obtain. 

We have many indications of good on the plain — revivals 



ALONG THE TIGEIS. 253 

at some points. I have just heard from Tamo at Memikan 
of considerable religious interest there. He reports fourteen 
who have come out on the Lord's side. Our work has 
never seemed more prosperous, 

I hope I may find some relief in America and be per- 
mitted to resume my labors in the mountains. Even if I 
should find none, and still had the prospect of living a few 
years, I should much prefer to spend them on missionary 
ground. 

If this messenger delays, I fear I may not hear from you 
before leaving. I shall always thank God that I was per- 
mitted to meet with your dear circle and enjoy so many 
pleasant hours with them ; and I wish to assure you, my 
dear brother and sister, of the tender gratitude I shall 
always feel toward you for your sympathy and love while 
I was with you bereaved and sorrowing. Than yours the 
memory of no missionary brother and sister is more precious 
and dear to my heart; and I hope that our correspondence, 
which on your part has been so delightful for nearly eight 
years, will continue until the end. 

Of his work at this time in Persia Dr. Perkins says : His 
labors (teaching in the male seminary and preaching in the 
villages) were much needed and very useful. His exegetical 
lectures on the Minor Prophets, delivered in the seminary 
that winter, appear substantially in his admirable notes, in 
Syriac, on those prophets as afterward published. 

During this winter symptoms of disease became so serious 
in Mr. Rhea that our physician urged his immediate return 
to America as holding out the best and perhaps the only 
hope of recovery. He left the mission in April, 1859, a 
little more than eight years after first leaving his native 
land — eventful years of as unwearying toil, marked success, 
manifold self-denials, sacrifices and trials, and as rapid 

22 



254 



TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 



growth, as are often crowded into that period of a mission- 
ary's life. 

Mr. Rhea returned to America by way of England, and 
was in London at the time of the spring anniversaries, where 
he deeply interested some of the audiences by his thrilling 
missionary addresses. 




BEDOUIN SHEIK AND 'WIFE, ON DROMEDAKT. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

VISIT TO AMERICA. 

MR. RHEA had spent eight years absent from favored 
America. The first thi'ee were mainly solitary. Then 
followed three blessed years of home life in a strange land, 
succeeded in contrast by two years the more inexpressibly 
lonely and desolate, crowded with privations and dangers 
and utmost self-denial, of arduous journeys in the highest 
and wildest regions inhabited by man. Now, by order of 
his beloved physician — who himself spent twenty-four years 
without return — he was on the way to America. 

Few lingering in civilized lands can know the greatness 
of the change from the minaret and crescent to the steeple 
and cross — the mingled emotions of one returning under 
such circumstances. What a return from a land without 
a stage-coach, or steamer, or car, or gaslight, or native 
newspaper, or jury, to earth's highest civilization ! from 
Moslem intolerance and grinding oppression to well-ordered 
freedom! from stagnation to life! from ages before the flood 
to the present day ! in short, from Persia to London, New 
York! from Koordistan to Tennessee! How the heart 
leaped and thrilled ! Well that it had the interval of a 
long journey by sea and land to allow it to anticipate varied 
possibilities and probabilities and grow calm. 

On reaching Boston, in July, 1859, his health had become 
quite restored by the effect of his journey and voyage, and 
his whole appearance was so ruddy and hale that it was 
difficult to conceive of him as having been an invalid — a 
not uncommon nor undesirable experience of returned mis- 

255 



256 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

sionaries, though sometimes embarrassing to them, as exact- 
ing ones in the churches (not, as a rule, the largest con- 
tributors) must know wherefore their missionaries have left 
their field. 

" At last he came to us in Tennessee," says an earnest 
friend, " already improved in health, much changed by the 
long, laborious years, so that no one could have said that 
the dignified, entertaining traveler, whom some one 
called a Persian patriarch, with his sun-browned face and 
great, handsome beard, reaching half-way down his vest, 
was identical with the blushing, modest youth that we had 
known, though he was modest still and gentle as a woman. 

"A few days after his arrival in Tennessee he came to 
Jonesboro' to visit his aunt, Mrs. Luckey. The first day, in 
taking a walk with Judge Luckey to see the changes and 
improvements in his absence, he noticed a new brick house 
and inquired, " Whose house is that ?" Judge Luckey re- 
plied, " Dr. Cunningham's ; and, by the way, Mrs. Cunning- 
ham was Mrs. Foster, of Knoxville memory. Would you 
like to see her? Let us call." How our hearts burned 
within us when we heard that Judge Luckey had brought 
Mr. Rhea ! It seemed a great thing. Missionaries in 
Tennesseee are not like missionaries in Massachusetts — an 
every-day sight. We gazed upon him with wonder. We 
took him by the hand, and looked into his eyes, and heard 
him speak ; a live missionary, for long years a resident of 
the wild Koordish mountains in the heart of Asia, come 
back to us ! He seemed almost like a being of another 
sphere, too ; not that the savage associations of those sin- 
darkened fastnesses had eclipsed any of the pure light of 
his character, but the contrary. One might have thought 
that he had spent the intervening years in some fine school 
of morals and of manners, so pleasing and winning was his 
address, so gentle and refined his tones and language. 



VISIT TO AMERICA. 257 

" After that, he preached for us several times to the un- 
speakable delight of all who listened. After the first ser- 
mon, one good old lady remarked to another as they passed 
out of church, 'Did you ever hear such a preacher? 
What a pity he should waste himself upon the heathen !' 

" During the winter following his return a gracious season 
of revival was enjoyed in the Jonesboro' church, and in a 
passing visit from Mr. Rhea some most solemn and thrill- 
ing sermons were preached, which greatly added to the 
awakening. The impression he made in the pulpit and out 
of it was that of a man of God whose conversation was in 
heaven. When he spoke upon the themes nearest his 
heart, such as union with Christ and holy living, his eye 
lit up with a softened fire, his features glowed and his brow 
radiated light, so that his countenance, thus animated and 
beaming, was an impressive sight to behold. I doubt not 
that many, if not all, that have heard him preach have 
noticed this peculiar radiance of his features — a rare and 
holy light. His voice was deep and full and rich, a fine 
bass in singing. His manner in the pulpit was without the 
slightest afiectation, very animated, but very simple. He 
commanded attention and held it. It was impossible not 
to listen." 

We return to Dr. Perkins' charming reminiscences : 
" Mr. Rhea remained in America about one year ; a year as 
crowded and eventful as any one that he had spent on mis- 
sionary ground. His influence and incessant labors among 
the churches were of the happiest kind, and made a very 
deep and lasting impression, particularly in Tennessee, his 
native State, where the subject of missions was less common 
but not less welcome than in New England. 

" Early after his reaching America the kind hand of the 

Lord led our brother to the acquaintance of Miss Sarah 

Jane Foster of Jonesboro', Tennessee, the lady who is now 
22 « R 



258 TENNBSSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

his deeply-stricken widow, and whom he had known in 
childhood. Of her eminent fitness for the missionary work, 
and not less eminent fitness to bless the home of such a man, 
we dare not trust ourselves to speak as our feelings would 
prompt, for she is still among the living. I may be par- 
doned, however, in hazarding the remark that few unions 
are formed in this world where tastes are more congenial or 
affection more deep and abiding." 

Much correspondence evincing Mr. Rhea's deep spirit- 
uality during this American visit must be omitted, as has 
been much of former years, lest our volume be unduly 
large. Brief hints alone can be given. 

January 23, 1860. — Having started northward, he men- 
tions at Marion, Tennessee, a kind welcome, union congre- 
gations of Presbyterians and Methodists, an extra meeting 
to hear more about Persia on Monday, cordial grasps of his 
hand and Christian sympathy. 

He next dates from Washington City, January 25, 1860. — 
Mentions cordial welcome from the representatives of his 
State in Congress — Nelson and Maynard — alludes to the 
eloquence of Corwin and failure of Keitt ; heard Jefferson 
Davis speaking dryly in the Senate Chamber, and was in- 
troduced to some Christians in Congress. 

He next writes from New York, January 27, 1860: I 

came directly to Dr. H 's, and met a warm greeting. 

Here I am perfectly at home, and were you with me would 
be completely happy. Life is a constant self-sacrifice, " If 
any man will come after me, let him deny himself!" He 
whose we are, to whom we have unitedly and with whole- 
hearted devotion consecrated our entire being, demands an 
entire self-renunciation. This is his right — our will cora-1 
pletely merged in his. This done, there are opened up in 
the soul depths of peace and blessedness unspeakable. We 
give all and take all. We get far more of earth and earthly 



VISIT TO AMERICA. 259 

good than otherwise, even the hundred-fold. Will he not 
with Him freely give us all things ? 

He speaks with delight of a call from Mr. Cobb, after- 
ward missionary to Persia : 

"And who do you think came in while we were talking? 
Father Perkins ! He looks remarkably well ; preaches 
here to-morrow ; thinks he may be able to go out with us. 
Isn't that pleasant ? but we may be disappointed, so we will 
not think about it too much." 

"New York, Jan. 31, 1860, 

" How I long for quiet repose far away from these rattling 
stages, jingling car-bells and the noise of a hard, money- 
loving, money-making world ! But there are pure and noble 
hearts, thousands of them, in this great city, whose lives of 
humble effort in self-denying love for the poor and sorrow- 
ing send up a rich and precious incense to the Master. Oh, 
I long to forget myself! I want a heart beating in sym- 
pathy with every human heart. I want to throw the 
mantle of charity over the frailties of every fellow-man 
and love them, for there is something to love in every one." 

The following letters will give some idea of the whirling, 
crowded life which missionaries are often obliged to lead in 
America : 

" Palmer, Mass., Saturday, Feb. 4, 1860. 

" While waiting for the train I am writing with a pencil 
an inch long, my hat for a table, and plenty of folks 
around. Left New York at 8 A. M., reached Amherst at 
4 ; was met at the dep6t by my Brother Brainerd. How 
glad we both were ! I found Father Perkins at Palmer. 
We were to be guests of Professor Tyler, so we went whirl- 
ing there in Mr. Thompson's sleigh. Went over Wednes- 
day night and saw how my brothers were situated. Called 
at Professor Hitchcock's. What an interesting old couple, 



260 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

SO very cordial and kind ! I did not tell you what a good 
man Professor Tyler is, and what a warm-hearted, earnest 
missionary wife he has. But all at Amherst and South 
Hadley are missionary." 

We learn from Dr. Perkins that while in America Mr. 
Khea attended the ordination of the Rev. A. L. Thompson, 
of Amherst, Massachusetts, who had been designated to the 
Nestorian mission. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Thomp- 
son was solemnized in the church of East Amherst at the 
close of the ordaining services. Mr. Rhea, not sure that he 
would be able to be present, had declined a prominent part 
in the exercises, but on his arrival he was requested to 
make the concluding prayer. Few who heard that melting 
prayer will ever lose the impressions of it. No part of the 
services was more touching and thrilling. In the rush of 
memories of the past and foreshado wings of the future, 
after commending the consecrated pair to God in other re- 
lations, he feelingly said, "And when they are called to 
part, for part they must," etc., an allusion that brought 
tears to many eyes, and was almost a prophetic foreboding, 
as the sorrowful sequel proved ; for in about seven months 
from that time, and within two montl^s after reaching his 
field, Mr. Thompson was suddenly cut down in the buoy- 
ancy of his youth, leaving his still more youthful and not 
less joyous bride in the deep shadows of widowhood. 

Mr. Rhea writes from Amherst, Massachusetts, February 
4, 1860 : " I am driven to death, trying to do in five days 
what should not be done in less than ten. This morning I 
was scribbling a note on my hat in a railway car, and now, 
at ten and a half, Saturday night, shall I resume the thread 
which the whirl of the engine snapped in two ? Thursday 
dined with the council which had been examining Mr. 
Thompson. Made some pleasant acquaintances among the 



VISIT TO AMERICA. 261 

New England clergy. After dinner the church in East 
Amherst was packed — forty-six from Mount Holyoke. Dr. 
McEwen, pastor of Miss Wood, at Enfield, preached the 
sermon, perfectly delighted at the idea of his church send- 
ing out a missionary, Dr, Stearns offered the ordaining 
prayer, Mr. Woodward, the pastor, gave the charge, Dr. 
Perkins the right hand of fellowship. All these services 
were ably performed, deeply interesting, and listened to by 
a deeply sympathetic assembly. Then followed another 
scene — the youthful missionaries stood in the aisle; there 
was deep stillness ; holy vows were assumed, and they were 
pronounced man and wife ; then followed the missionary 
hymn, and services were closed by prayer by the younger 
Persian brother," 

Thursday night he preached at the college, " Lengthen 
thy cords, strengthen thy stakes," etc. He also was de- 
sired to preach on the Sabbath, February 5, 1860, and says: 
" Rose under deep depression of spirits. How shall I get 
through the labor of the day ! It was trying to preach 
before the president and faculty and three hundred students, 
but I tried to remember that there was One present, and 
but One whom I should fear — for whose approval or disap- 
proval I should at all care, I had freedom. At half-past one 
preached missionary sermon in East Amherst ; dined with 
Dr. Belden ; took tea with President Stearns, and, as it was 
monthly concert, addressed the students for forty minutes 
on missions. Never spoke with more freedom extempore ; 
began with much trembling, but was wonderfully carried 
through. 

Let us be instant in prayer. My life is too prayerless. 
How unfavorable is this running to and fro for the cultivation 
of the heart! I can hardly find time for prayer and read- 
ing the Bible, but I must find time. How weary I am of 
visiting ! Not that I do not meet some of the most lovely 



262 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

Christian spirits in the world, but I long for quiet ; I long 
to have time to think on my own ways, to talk with Him 
whom our souls love. • 

I went to my brothei's' room, sat a while with them, 
prayed with them. They are good brothers; love me 
much ; have taken a good stand as to scholarship and 
moral character ; both, I trust. Christians. How much I 
love them ! How I long to be more with them ! 

Of a visit to Mount Holyoke, riding over in a sleigh with 
his brothers : " Miss Fiske met me at the door ; — went into 
her room ; there we sat and chatted most pleasantly. How 
I shrunk back from having three hundred pairs of eyes 
fixed on me as I entered the diuing-hall ! Chatted away 
till five, then drove down to Smith's Ferry, over the river, 
took cars, and was in Westfield by seven P. M. Spent the 
evening at Mrs. Stocking's, the night at Mrs. Perkins*. 
Returned Saturday to Amherst." From Amherst he pro- 
ceeded to Boston, and writes from "Albany, February 9, 
1860. Reached Boston, Monday at four ; five minutes at 
mission rooms ; just time to get to Andover depot; reached 
Andover at seven; guest of Prof. Shedd; saw Lucy and 
Katy Wright, and gave them the kisses which I brought 
nearly ten months ago from their dear parents. 

" Tuesday morning heard Prof. Park lecture. Went out 
and spent the night with Dr. Anderson. He and Mrs. A. 
are patriarchal, and I love them. 

" Dr. Anderson and I talked over our mountain Nesto- 
rians. The Prudential Committee are very desirous that I, 
with Messrs. Cobb and Ambrose, begin the new station at 
Amidiah, on the score of my ' extensive experience ' in that 
region. The time for our sailing will probably be the last 
of June. With a nice house in Amidiah, associates so re- 
fined, hearts so loving, and a work so angelic to do for our 
Master, we shall, or ought to, be the happiest of mortals. 



VISIT TO AMERICA. 263 

I long to be there. I think of you more and more as a 
brave-hearted woman, able to meet any emergency. In 
giving your life for a. dying world, you have made the 
purest and noblest disposition of it which is possible. Let 
our standard be simply Christ. I love to ask myself con- 
tinually, If Christ were here, how would he act ? and then 
try to act just as gently, kindly, nobly, truly, independently 
as he would. 

" I spent nearly all day yesterday helping Mr. and Mrs. 
Thompson buy their India-rubber clothes, saddles, etc., etc. 
1 left Boston at three, reached Albany at eleven P. M." 

" Homer, N. Y., February 11, 1860. 

"I left Albany accompanied by Dr. H. ; traveled all night; 
reached Syracuse at five, and Homer at half-past ten A. M. 
I have been forcibly reminded of my winter home in the 
mountains. Oh, how it blew yesterday! How cutting 
these northern blasts ! How they bite and sting ! For 
some days my lungs were sore, a thing unusual with me ; 
now relieved. 

"I had some sad hours to-night on the way from Albany. 
Once I bent forward and, resting my head on the car-seat 
before me, wept bitterly over past unfaithfulness — infinite 
unworthiness. It seemed as if I must yet pass through 
deeper and deeper waters before I reach those peaceful 
shores. Oh that I could feel His presence every moment, 
and that his Spirit would guide my every thought, my 
every written and spoken word ! 

" We will put our hands into the hands of Jesus, and we 
will beg him to guide and shield and love us unto the end. 
Are we not his ? And if we have followed him afar ofi", 
and wounded him, will he cast us off for ever? Can he not 
again embrace us, forgive, and heal, and cleanse us? I 
long to know that you are kept in perfect peace, stayed oi) 



264 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

him. Oh, he is unspeakably lovely ! How can we follow 
him afar off!" 

And now Mr. Rhea moves again to his own sunny South ; 
breezes soften, skies brighten, spring appears. March 1 
finds him in the country at Union, Tennessee, making a 
temperance address. 

EoGERSViLLE, Tenn., March 22, 1860. 

Preached last night to a large and attentive ^congregation. 
Pray that the seed sown may spring up unto everlasting 
life. Reached Russellville at nine — pleasant ride. Left 
there at noon. Oh what a ride in that hack, sixteen miles ; 
five hours of jolting, worse than a camel's back by far, and 
worse than all it must be repeated ! Am to preach to-night. 

If my Master will only give me his smiles it is sweet to 
labor for him. How great my wants ! and yet there is not 
one thing I need he cannot and will not give me. What 
a precious assurance — able to do exceeding abundantly 
above all we can ask or think ! I believe it. I embrace 
the promise — it is mine — but my great difiiculty is not 
unbelief — it is spiritual numbness — deadness. Oh I pant 
for a new, fresh divine life ! Will not Jesus give it to me? 

Blountsville, A'pril 19. 
To-morrow I start for Cold Spring with father — spend 
the night -with Colonel McClellan. I shall be glad when 
it is over. There is a publicity — an ostentation — what shall 
I call it? — a kind of parade about missions and missionaries 
from which I shrink. I wish to go along gently and un- 
obtrusively — to take the lowest place and do my Master's 
work. I am often addressed as if I were doing some great 
thing. It pains me — for often it requires more grace to 
live to God in small things than in great — as much to 
be perfectly kind, gentle, patient, forbearing, charitable, 
prompt, punctual, forgiving in the little sphere of the 



VISIT TO AMERICA. 265 

family circle, as to enter upon some great undertaking. It 
is harder to rule one's own spirit, keep down its pride, and 
envy, and vanity, and anger, and censoriousness, and indo- 
lence, and malice, and rule it into all the sweet and loving 
and Christlike tempers, than to take a city. 

April 24. — We had a good visit at Cold Spring, the 
finest portion of our country — staid old citizens — good 
Presbyterian stock. I preached Saturday and Sabbath 
mornings ; on missions in the evening ; also preached yes- 
terday morning. 

When I reached the depot I found no one there to 
bring me home ; and I set out courageously on foot, met 
the buggy and Uncle Jerry (colored). This was a relief. 
There were kisses waiting me at home — mother and four 
sisters. We spent the evening around the fireside, all 
quiet, pleasant, each one seeming to enjoy him and herself. 
If our Father please, it will not be long until you will be 
with us and one of us. I rehearsed my travels, John his. 
We ate candy and chatted on. 

Mr. Rhea and Miss S. J. Foster were married in the 
Jonesboro' church, Thursday evening, April 26, 1860. 

" Mr. Rhea's delightful home," says Mrs. Rhea, " with 
father and mother, five brothers and four sisters, was 
twenty miles above Jonesboro', a little ofi" the railroad. 
The day after our wedding I entered it for the first time. 
That abode of filial love seemed to me a little type of hea- 
ven. In my own lone orphanage I had never known such 
a genial domestic atmosphere, a home of so many diverse 
members, and yet such union and concord. The father, 
like faithfiil Abraham, of whom God said, ' I know him, 
that he will command his children and his household after 
him ;' the mother, ruling by gentleness ; and the brothers 
and sisters, each looking, not on his own, but the things of 

23 



266 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

others, in honor preferring one another ; and, as it seepied 
to me, putting brother Samuel, the eldest, at the head and 
in the centre, as the one whom all delighted to honor, 
and whom, by common consent, they all loved first and 
best. 

" I pass over the scenes of parting from our two dear 
homes — the agony, the weeping. There are some who 
think that missionaries have less feeling than other people, 
and that they could never endure the separation. It is not 
easy to flesh and blood. Even the Saviour did not prove 
it easy, or wish it to be easy, when he declared. Whosoever 
loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. 

" I pass over many last visits and farewell words from 
Southern circles and at the North, especially at my Alma 
Mater, Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. 

" The last Sabbath we spent in our native land was at 
Andover, where our large party received a formal charge 
from Dr. Anderson in the chapel of the Theological Semi- 
nary. The last night we passed at Dr. Anderson's house 
in Roxbury, where we enjoyed delightful intercourse with 
that good man and his good wife. 

" We sailed from Boston in the Smyrniote, July 3, 1860." 



CHAPTER XIX. 

EETUEN TO PERSIA. 

THE morning of July 2, 1860, found on the deck of the 
barque Smyrniote a large reinforcement for the Nesto- 
rian mission. The company consisted of Mr. and Mrs. 
Rhea, Mr. and Mrs. Labaree, Mr. and Mrs. Cobb, and Dr. 
Young; besides Mr. and Mrs. Burbank, destined to the 
Eastern Turkey mission. 

Mr. Rhea was recognized by common consent as the 
leader of that well-selected band. It is not easy to over- 
estimate the importance of the influence which such a 
leader exerts on his younger brethren and sisters on their 
way to the field. The value of such a missionary model 
and guide as Mr. Rhea — who came as near the beau-ideal 
of both as ever did a mortal — in smoothing the roughness 
of the way and happily initiating the inexperienced to Ori- 
ental scenes and circumstances, will never cease to be remem- 
bered by every individual who accompanied him. 

Just before sailing Mr. Rhea had written from Mount 
Holyoke to Dr. Perkins : 

" Those bitter farewells over, I turn my eyes longingly 
toward my own chosen home and work, though I know no 
smooth seas nor flowery paths await me : a life of labor, 
trials and conflicts till the summons comes." 

Mrs. Rhea adds : " In a few hours we were all wretchedly 
sea-sick, and continued more or less so ; not entirely because 
our passage was a rough one, but because of the smell of 
bilge-water, mixed with the leakage of rum-barrels in the 

267 



268 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

hold, which continued day and night. . We were nineteen 
days from Boston to Gibraltar, and thirty-one from Gib- 
raltar to Smyrna. Our voyage through the Mediterranean 
was specially tedious, from calms and adverse winds. Mr. 
Rhea was nauseated all the time, and ate almost nothing 
from Boston to Smyrna. Yet he was patient and good- 
natured, and ready for every good word and work. Seve- 
ral hours of each day he devoted to biblical study, com- 
mitting the Psalms of David and many sweet hymns to 
memory, which he would repeat to me as we walked the 
deck. He also read Bushnell's Nature and the Supernatu- 
ral, Tayler Lewis' Divine and Human in the Scriptures, 
McCosh's Typical Forms and Special Ends in Creation 
and Intuitions of the Mind, The Elohim Revealed, Tenny- 
son's Idyls, Reviews of the Classics and Geographical Refer- 
ences, and other books, besides teaching a class in Syriac, 
which we all began to learn at sea. And through all those 
days I can bear witness to the earnest cravings of his soul, 
described in Matt. v. 6 : Blessed are they which do hunger 
and thirst after righteousness. 

" When our ship touched the land at Smyrna, the first 
news we heard was of the horrible massacres in Mount 
Lebanon." 

That was a terrible welcome ! Many thousands in the 
"goodly mountain" and at Damascus butchered in cold 
blood ! Writing from Constantinople, Mr. Rhea alludes to 
some slight retribution : " The news from Syria yesterday 
was startling. Ahmed, Pasha of Damascus, one of the 
greatest pashas of the Empire, with a number of the 
wealthiest and most influential men of Damascus, who were 
the instigators of the late massacre, were shot down like 
dogs in the public square ! French troops were in Beyroot; 
but the French general, a determined man, went up to 
Damascus and demanded it. Some expect an uprising of 



KETUEN TO PEESIA. 269 

the Moslems ; I think the Turk, stunned by such events, 
will fold his hands and bow to his inevitable fate. We take 
the Austrian steamer." 

Mrs. Rhea proceeds: "Such was our greeting on the 
Asiatic coast, the rude continent in which our future lots 
were cast. In Constantinople we were detained a month. 
We were the guests of Dr. and Mrs. Dwight, then in the 
Bebek Seminary, now Robert College. We also visited in 
the families of Drs. Goodell, Schauffler, Riggs, and Messrs. 
E. and I. Bliss and Washburn. What happy days ! What 
princes of the chosen tribes those reverend men seemed to 
our admiring eyes ! Their manners most refined and cour- 
teous, yet transparently simple and childlike, every one; 
their hands full of work, their heads full of learning and 
experience, the elder crowned with gray hairs and covered 
with honor. Yet all their hearts as fresh and kind and 
overflowing as we ought to expect great, ripened hearts to 
be, that had so long held and dispensed the love of Christ. 
After we had passed a social hour, singing with the genial- 
hearted Dr. Goodell, one evening, he turned to me and said 
in his own animated and peculiar way, ' Do all you can to 
cheer up your good husband ; keep him singing ! You and 
he, in your Persian home, and we here, will go singing on 
till the Master calls, and then we will go singing home, and 
sing together there perhaps these very songs !' Oh blessed 
thought, that we shall sing together there ! We who have 
so loved to sing together here ! 

" A very pleasant incident connected with our stay in 
Constantinople was the meeting with old friends and Ten- 
nessee acquaintances in the family of Colonel Williams, our 
United States Minister. We greatly enjoyed their cordial 
hospitality and kindness to us personally, and all the more 
highly on account of the very excellent repute of our Amer- 
ican representative among all parties, and their special 
23* 



270 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

friendly and social relations to the families of the mission- 
aries, who were usually invited to spend a day every fort- 
night at Colonel Williams' house. At last, after many days 
of pleasant waiting, we took our leave for the regions beyond." 

Mrs. Rhea affords us views of the latter part of her 
tedious four months' journey from America : 

" A prosperous voyage of three days in a fine steamer, 
brought us to Trebizond, on the Black Sea,* September 24. 
The first night there, when I turned back the clothes of the 
bed which I had spread on the floor of an unfurnished room 
of the mission-house, I quickly dropped them again and 
started back, for there was a scorpion ! I gathered myself 
trembling into my camp-chair, and waited for Mr. Rhea. 
It was a long time ; and when he came how sad he looked ! 
The Armenian pastor. Baron Hagop, had just given the 
gentlemen Oroomiah letters announcing the death of Mr. 
Thompson ! What a shock this gave us ! This solemn call 
came home to our hearts. Thus our long land-journey be- 
gan in gloom and sorrow. Why was he taken, so young, so 
promising, just entering on his work ? 

"The first Sabbath out of Trebizond, as we kept holy 
time in solemn worship, and our sanctuary was the little 
tent, Mr. Rhea read to us from the Sacred Scriptures about 
the great I AM, the sovereign God who ruleth among the 
armies of heaven and the inhabitants of earth, and whose 
thoughts are not as our thoughts, nor his ways as our ways ; 
whose resources are boundless, whose work is infinite, whose 
plans are irreversible, whose chosen spheres of labor, of use- 
fulness and of honor for his faithful and beloved servants 
may be far wider than we can measure, and higher than we 
can reach ; and we were comforted to think that even the 
untimely death of our young associate did not prove any 
thwarting of God's eternal plan, either in regard to that in- 
* See illustration on page 39. 



EETUEN TO PERSIA. 271 

dividual laborer or to our precious work — more precious still 
to Him who died for its accomplishment. 

"Mr. Ehea was our leader on the way. The land-journey 
from Trebizond to Oroomiah is performed on horseback. 
We had only caravan animals, and a sorry set they were. 
We also had one pair of cajavas (panniers) in which two 
ladies rode by turns. The horse of one gentleman, or another, 
of our party, used to come down to the ground about every 
day, and all of us got over the mountain only by dint of 
patience and hard driving. Two Nestorians, returning from 
Constantinople to Oroomiah, helped about the tents, meals, 
etc. Mr. Rhea made ready in Boston some boxes, with se- 
parate compartments for plates, knives and forks, and cups 
and saucers, flour, sugar, salt, tea and coffee, kettles, frying- 
pan, etc., etc. We had two tents, which we made into four 
sleeping-rooms, by curtaining. Mr. Rhea slept with his 
watch under his head and matches near. Soon after three 
o'clock A. M. he would call from the tent for the muleteers 
to begin to feed their horses and the Nestorians to make fire 
for breakfast. Then a busy scene ensued. We would all 
get up and dress as fast as we could, fold the bed-clothes, 
roll up the beds, pack them into large bags, which were car- 
ried outside the tents to afford us breakfast room within. 
Then the table-cloth was spread on the carpet and the tin 
plates rattled down, and soon we were seated around on the 
tent floor, with keen appetites and grateful hearts. We 
could get milk and eggs, and occasionally chickens, and the 
traveling-chests afforded the rest, 

"After breakfast, enlivened by much cheerful conver- 
sation, the dishes were carried off to be washed, and Mr. 
Rhea drew out his pocket Bible, reading a daily portion, fol- 
lowed by a hymn, for we were all singers, and a prayer, in 
which we craved the blessing and protection of our great 
Leader through the dangers and exposures of the day. 



272 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

" Then the lunch was prepared, the dishes counted and 
packed and adjusted, while everybody dashed about here 
and there in the din of Babel. Muleteers, stubborn, lazy, 
unaccommodating, never ready to start and never willing 
to hurry, cursing and swearing, reviling and beating their 
woebegone horses and grumbling about the loads ; while 
we, very uncomfortable and impatient to get off, with 
riding-skirts dragging in the wet grass, are walking about, 
leading our horses, watching them lest they fight, and try- 
ing to guard loose articles from the thievish villagers, who 
by this time, accompanied by yelping dogs of every descrip- 
tion, have gathered around in giggling, gaping crowds to 
look at us and steal whatever they can find. 

"At last, however, the cajavas lead the way, and we 
are off, greeted perhaps by the rising sun, or glad if we can 
even a little anticipate his ardent beams. The scenery for 
a few days from Trebizond is mountainous and very fine ; 
afterward monotonous. We pine for trees, but only a few, 
with willows here and there upon the water-courses, appear. 
We should pass the filthy, half-subterranean villages with- 
out suspecting their existence, were they not pointed out by 
Mr. Khea or announced by the wolfish dogs." 

At the foot of a mountain range between Trebizond 
and Ararat stands the city of Erzeroom, the chief city on 
the route to Persia, to which reference will also be found 
in Mr. Rhea's firs't journey to Persia, p. 41. To Christians 
it has the additional interest arising from its occupation as 
a station by the missionaries of the American Board. It 
stands on the verge of a large and beautiful plain, near 
one of the streams which unite to form the Euphrates ; 
and though this plain lies six thousand feet above the sea- 
level, from it the eye looks up to higher peaks that stand 
crowned with never-melting snow. Commanding the main 
thoroughfare to Persia, it was once a fortified city of im- 



RETURN TO PERSIA. 2/5 

portance, and the old walls still stand in part, thougli the 
city has outgrown its ancient limits and barriers. Like 
other Eastern cities, though fair without it is filthy within, 
yet a place of deep interest as a centre of trade and influ- 
ence. It has a population of sixty thousand. 

" I rode mostly in the cajavas," says Mrs. Rhea, " chang- 
ing to the saddle when tired. A lady or some heavy box 
balanced me on the other side. Mr. Rhea was generally 
near, looking out safe paths for the cajava horse, where 
the road was narrow, steep or rough ; and with this protec- 
tion I could feel safe and easy enough to cushion my weary 
head on a pillow and sleep, though helplessly boxed up 
and tied on the back of a stumbling horse. 

" Much of the time we dreaded Koords. When we en- 
tered a narrow mountain pass, or turned a sudden corner, 




MOUNT ARARAT. 



or saw dark objects over a hill, or met horsemen, we would 
think they were upon us, Mr. Rhea's calm trust in the 



276 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

protecting Hand that led us through those wild and dan- 
gerous regions did much to comfort and reassure us, and 
through that guiding Power we were safely kept." 

The following allusions to Ararat will please all who 
delight to think of that famous mountain whose name is 
indelibly associated with the ark and flood. 

" We are now encamped on the great plain of Moolah 
Sooleiman, and Mount Ararat is in sight, lifting a snowy, 
dazzling cone above the distant mountains, very beautiful 
indeed aside from its sublime associations. Passed shrubs 
in brilliant autumn colors, an orchard of real apple trees, 
brooks very clear, the bottoms lined with pebbles in gay 
mosaics. 

" October 13. — Got up very early, thinking to have 
an early start ; but had to wait. It was a glorious sunrise 
over Ararat, the soft, purple twilight of the hills becom- 
ing pink, and then resplendent with golden hues, and finally 
all dazzling in the full light of the mighty sun." 

That evening the gentlemen bathed in the Euphrates. 
They passed the Sabbath there at the poorest and meanest vil- 
lage they had seen. On Sabbath morning villagers gathered 
at the tent door, talked with Mr. Rhea, and received some 
Bibles. Afterward he preached in Syriac to the men. 

October 16. — They passed an imposing Armenian struc- 
ture, contrasting strikingly with the mean huts, its " corner- 
stone said to have been laid by St. Gregory fifteen hundred 
years ago !" 

They met a Koordish dignitary, his attendants with long 
spears on fine horses, now and then one dashing out ofi" the 
road, scouring in a cloud of dust over the plain, galloping 
like the wind, with incredible speed. It was beautiful 
indeed. The chief was very distinguishable by his grand 
air and scarlet robe and jewels. As we passed, the head 
horseman of our party, without knowing it, dropped from 



RETURN TO PERSIA. 277 

his saddle a bag containing valuables worth forty or fifty 
dollars. After an hour it was missed, to his utter conster- 
nation. With tears and entreaties Mr. Rhea and Babillo 
were prevailed on to return while we pursued our journey 
and pitched camp at Drodeen. 

Before night Mr. Rhea returned successful. They came 
upon the Koords just beyond the Three Churches. The 
Koordish chief commanded restoration. The finder denied 
having seen the bundle, but finally brought it out, to the 
great joy of the chevadar, who presented a pistol to the 
Koordish chief, and returned along the road singing, where 
he had before gone weeping and mourning. 

October 18. — The company reached the dividing line be- 
tween Turkey and Persia. They formed and passed the 
line all abreast, with joyful and grateful feelings singing a 
hymn of praise to God. 

October 22. — They came upon a beautiful village ; fenced 
orchards ; apricots and other fruit trees in regular rows ; 
sycamores, willows and English walnuts in abundance; 
fields of castor oil bean and cotton ; a higher civilization 
bursting upon them like a glimpse of the trees and gardens 
of Paradise. 

October 23. — Crossed a plain white with salt. A neigh- 
boring mountain glistened with salt embattlements. An- 
other singular range had oblique-striped strata, brown and 
red. On passing the boundary we were interested in the 
improvement of the scenery and houses, and in the people, 
the latter looking more cleanly and intelligent. When 
Mr. Rhea pointed out to us Nestorian villages on the plain 
of Salmas, our journey seemed near its end. But they must 
first learn the blessings of free America by a little despotic 
experience. Our boxes, containing household articles and 
clothing — all we possessed — being unjustly detained by the 
custom-house officials at Khoy, who refused to give them 

24 



278 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

up to a servant, Mr, Rhea was obliged to return after them 
in person. 

The journal continues : "So I am left alone. Came in 
sight of the Lake of Oroomiah. Above it hangs a beautiful 
rainbow." The next day they reached Gavalan, and, by 
hard riding till several hours after midnight, Mr. Rhea 
rejoined them, the boxes still detained at Khoy. "At 
Gavalan we were greeted by many demonstrations of affec- 
tion by the people for whose sakes we had left our native 
land. The next day, October 25, riding in the rain, we 
met, about noon, Mr. Coan and Mr. Shedd coming to greet 
us. The sight cheered us, and fresh horses made the last 
half of that day's journey the most pleasant of all. 

"After the hardships and exposures of the journey the 
mission-houses seemed like a paradise. Every little com- 
fort was a luxury uuspeakable. Mr, Breath, Mr. Coan, 
Mr. Shedd and Miss Rice, and the pupils of the Female 
Seminary occupy mud houses, which, with the mud print- 
ing establishment and chapel, face upon a court partly 
paved and partly of grass, with sycamore trees white- 
barked and very tall. The houses have flat roofs ; the mud 
floors are carpeted. The houses look not at all like any- 
thing in America, but the rooms seem pleasant and home- 
like. We were very cordially welcomed and hospitably 
entertained." 

Thus the new-comers found entrance to Persia, and Mr. 
Rhea returned to his blessed labors for Christ. 



"cT- I, 




CHAPTER XX. 

A NEW FIELD AND NEW LABORS. 

MR. AND MRS. RHEA, with their companions, reached 
Oroomiah October 25, 1860. Death had made one 
vacant place in the mission in the removal of Mr. Thomp- 
son while this reinforcement was on the way ; and this, with 
the impaired health of several others, and the exigencies of 
the work in Persia, soon determined the location of Mr. 
Rhea at Oroomiah as his future residence, rather than in 
Koordistan. After a day or two of resting with associates, 
who, as well as the natives, seemed delighted at his return, 
Mr. Rhea started for Tabreez to get orders from the consul 
to recover the boxes. In his absence Mrs. Rhea began 
housekeeping in Dr. Perkins' house at Seir, with Mr. and 
Mrs. Labaree for boarders. While the good wife is busy 
and waiting, and, at a glance from her window at Mount 
Seir, taking in the plain and the city and Oroomiah Lake 
and the many mountains, some near Tabreez, seventy or 
eighty miles away, yet hardly ever out of sight in that clear 
air, Mr. Rhea is writing the following letter : 

Tabreez, Persia, Nov. 4, 1860. 

My Dear Parents : You will be surprised to see that 
I am again so soon many miles from my home. I had 
hardly been in Oroomiah a week when it was thought best 
that I should come to Tabreez to the English consul, to en- 
deavor to get his aid in rescuing our boxes from the clutches 
of the custom-house officers. 

I am spending the Sabbath with Nicholas, an Armenian, 

24 « 281 



282 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

who many years ago was in the families of our missionaries. 
I had prayers with the family this morning in Syriae. 
Other than this I have attended no public service for the 
worship of God ; in fact, there has been no other in this 
city of one hundred thousand inhabitants. They are in 
the blindness and bigotry of Mohammedanism, which still 
reigns with unbroken sway in all this Empire. It has been 
my privilege to pray for this city ; and that is all I can do. 
When will the sound of the church-going bell break upon 
the death-like stillness which hangs over it? When will 
multitudes throng these streets on their way to the courts 
of the Most High ? I think of you to-day — our dear church 
and pastor, your songs of praise, your holy worship, all 
your privileges. AVhy has the Sun of righteousness risen 
upon you in such beauty and glory, and all so dark here ? 
Ah, my heart bleeds and my eyes weep, and I ask, Why do 
his chariot wheels delay his glorious coming ? Pray for me 
that I may be found in my lot at my post, faithful at his 
coming, and that I may so watch for souls that I may give 
my account with joy and not with grief. What a difference 
between this place and the plain of Oroomiah ! Here all is 
silent as the grave; no spiritual movement, no inquiry 
about the soul and its deathless interests. There, in more 
than thirty villages, Christ is preached, and in every vil- 
lage there are witnesses to the power of the gospel to sanc- 
tify and save. 

I can't express to you my great joy in being restored to 
my work. Not that it was joy to leave you, for it was a 
bitter cup, but I am thankful for all God's tender care of 
me and my dear wife and my companions in travel over a 
wide and stormy sea, and our land-journey with its many 
exposures and dangers, and that I am once more where I 
humbly hope his providence designed me to be. I preached 
my first sermon last Sabbath ; text, " Is the Lord among us 



A NEW FIELD AND NEW LABOES. 283 

or not?" It was an affecting occasion to me, and I was 
enabled to speak with great freedom, considering that I had 
not preached in Syriac for a year and a half. How much 
I suffered in America from my inability to preach extem- 
pore ! Here I have not the slightest difficulty. 

Afternoon. — Since writing I have had a short service in 
Syriac ; one of my congregation, a Nestorian woman, who 
lives with the consul ; there were also three poor men, who, 
with sixty other Nestorians returning from Russia, where 
they had spent the summer harvesting, were robbed a few 
days ago of all their earnings in a Mohammedan village on 
the way. I talked to them of the treasure hid in the field. 
Oh that they might find it ! 

"He soon returned," says Mrs. Ehea, "bringing the 
boxes and a present for me, a Persian carpet from Tabreez." 

Just here let us give place to one who doubtless often took 
his position on that flowery carpet. 

Mr. Labaree says: "My first winter in Persia was spent 
in Mr. Rhea's family. Very many were the delightful con- 
versations we had together on spiritual themes, in all of 
which he took high ground and advanced views. His was 
not a faith that was satisfied with touching simply the out- 
side of gospel truths, and especially of practical Christian 
doctrine, but it penetrated to the inner core, devoutly appro- 
priating to his own spiritual wants their purest riches. This 
faith enabled him to accept unhesitatingly many forms of 
truth at which another might stumble. Reason was too 
slow for him on many subjects, and not so satisfactory as a 
simple faith in the plain, pregnant statement of God's word, 
even when he could not follow with a logical argument. 
He used to say that he had little confidence in reasoning 
with an infidel ; unless there was some faith at the start, 
arguments were of small account. His faith in Christ as a 



284 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

loving and personal Saviour was only equaled by the in- 
tensity and purity of his consecration to him. He was very 
fond of conversation in which the character of the Divine 
Redeemer or his relation to his followers was the subject ; 
always ready to turn from the most distracting and absorb- 
ing cares to these serene themes as those most natural to 
him. Nor was there anything of affectation in his religious 
conversation. However simple a remark he might make, 
his manner of utterance showed that it came from his 
heart, his earnestness and fervor forbidding it to seem trite. 

" His faith was not merely characteristic of his modes of 
Christian believing, but was equally fervid with reference 
to his whole missionary life and work. He had great con- 
fidence in the power and success of the gospel. He never 
hesitated to sow beside all waters from any misgivings as to 
the hardness and unfruitfulness of the soil. He was ready 
to preach the gospel to every class and to every national- 
ity, however unpromising the case might seem to human 
view. 

" One bleak winter day we were caught in a terrible 
storm as we were on our way up to Seir, and with difficulty 
managed to reach a Musselman village, where we obtained 
shelter till the storm was over. During the most of our stay 
he was engaged in an earnest religious conversation with the 
head of the house, who was only an ordinary peasant. The 
fanatical intolerance of Mohammedanism in Persia naturally 
discourages the missionary from much serious labor with 
the bigoted followers of the false prophet, but it did not 
deter him from preaching salvation by Christ only, nor 
from hopefulness as to the results of such labor. 

" I remember at one of our annual meetings, when the 
question of missionary labor for Mohammedans was under 
discussion, and those who preceded him had taken the 
ground that no special efforts were called for, and none 



A NEW FIELD AND NEW LABORS. 285 

practicable. Mr. Rhea led off very warmly in opposition, 
urging more attention to the acquisition of the Turkish 
language on the part of the missionaries, that they might be 
able to preach the gospel to Musselmans at every opportu- 
nity, adding, with emphasis, with the full design of convert- 
ing their souls. There will be no toleration, he continued, 
until it is called for ; and we must have faith that there 
will be converts here in Persia. In the spirit of this senti- 
ment, in his subsequent intercourse with Mohammedans, 
which became very considerable, he was always forward to 
introduce religious conversation, with great tact and pru- 
dence, leading them to the most disastrous admissions re- 
specting their own religion, when he would in contrast 
exhibit the more rational grounds of Christian belief. 

" Few men had a happier faculty for such kind of mis- 
sionary labor than had Mr. Rhea. His converational pow- 
ers were of a superior order. He possessed an elasticity 
of mind and a fluency of speech that gave freshness and 
charm to all he said, whatever the subject he touched." 

We left Mrs. Rhea at Seir, only having to lift her eye 
at her front windows to see a semicircle with a radius of 
seventy miles from her centre. She had j ust received her ear- 
pet, and her husband was safe at home again. She proceeds : 

" We were soon settled at our winter routine ; Mr. Rhea 
assisting Mr. Cochran in the Seminary and preaching in 
the villages ; the new-comers busy, of course, learning the 
language. Oh, what hard work it was ! — how dark and un- 
get-at-able ! The sounds of those letters, the deep gutteral 
khaite ; the sharp, wiry, twanging tate ; the broad, swallow- 
ing kope, especially ! And then the genders for everything ! 
The nouns declined and the verbs conjugated, with peculiar 
terminations all through for gender! We expected, of 
course, to commit words to memory, but who had ever 
counted the cost of those jaw-breaking and throat-splitting 



286 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

letters? And who had ever expected to learu two lan- 
guages — one for men and boys and another for women and 
girls ? I remember once making a set speech to the wash- 
erwoman, which I had studied out and knew was correct, 
but afterward, my teacher, who was present, said to me, 
* You talk as if to a man, and the verb you used means " to 
wash " the hands and the face, and the dishes and so forth. 
We have another verb for washing clothes.' No wonder, 
then, at the blank stare in the washerwoman's face ! But 
the more discouraged I grew the more hopeful was Mr. 
Rhea. He would laugh and say. We give a year for 
learning the language, but you will be preaching in six 
months. 

" One day in the spring, Sarra, my teacher, asked me if 
I would not consent to let the women, in the afternoon, 
come to a prayer-meeting. I was very much frightened at 
such a prospect, but finally assented if she would sit very 
near to me and help me. They came. We began with a 
familiar song of Zion, then a short chapter and a few simple 
remarks which I had gone over and over with my teacher 
at the morning lessons, then prayers from Sarra and another 
good Christian woman, and I said, * We have finished ;' and 
the women rose quietly and solemnly and 'poured their 
peace ' and went away, while I looked after them anxiously, 
to see if any knowing winks should betray their suspicions 
that an Uzziah had ofiered strange fire at the altar. The 
French say, ' It is the first step that costs,' so that was a 
relief. The next morning Mr. Rhea took occasion to come 
in during my lesson and ask Sarra, archly, Did the women 
understand Khanum pi-eaching? She said, ' Yes.' So, little 
by little, as the Nestorians say, my tongue opened." 

" Mr. Rhea's fluent command of the language was wonder- 
ful. One of our new missionary ladies, in her zeal to learn 
the Syriac well, inquired of her teacher where she could find 



A NEW FIELD AND NEW LABORS. 287 

the best model of its pure and elegant use. The prompt 
answer was, Rhea Sahib. In pronouncing the language, 
while he bestowed a correct notice upon all the strange 
aspirations and gutturals, he was able to do it without mak- 
ing them conspicuous, as many of us have to do if we do 
them any justice." 

That these remarks of a loving wife are not overdrawn, 
the Editor of these papers has abundant proof in the testi- 
mony written, and in his possession now, from representatives 
of the entire Nestorian people and from his fellow-mission- 
aries. The following description of his abundant labors 
and his fitness for them is from the clear and able pen of 
Dr. Perkins, to which we have been so often indebted : 

" The sudden death by cholera of Mr. Breath — then the 
Nestor of the mission in the field — the year following Mr. 
Rhea's return, brought a paramount responsibility upon 
him, for which he was now remarkably well qualified. The 
bare enumeration of his missionary duties will show that 
his labors were henceforth alike manifold and onerous. 

" He was the postmaster of the mission. He was treasurer 
of the mission, a heavy charge, where accounts must be 
kept with scores of helpers, as well as with members of the 
mission and with neighboring missions, in different curren- 
cies, ever varying and uncertain, besides the full semi-annual 
returns to be made to the treasurer of the American Board. 
After the return of Mr. Cobb to America, Mr. Rhea took 
charge of the Mission Press, editing our monthly paper and 
furnishing other matter for the printers till my return to 
the field in 1862, when he shared those labors with me. 
He had charge of the Mohammedan Department, which 
means the transaction of business with the Musselman 
authorities, proper attention to Mohammedan visitors, to 
whom much religious truth may be imparted on such occa- 
sions, and specially the post of days-man between the poor, 



288 TENNESSEE AN IN PEESIA. 

suffering Nestorians and their numerous and cruelly op- 
pressive masters, a position often of great difficulty and 
perplexity. 

" The trials and anxieties, the sleepless nights and toilsome 
days which this last-named task sometimes involves, may be 
learned by reference to an affecting sketch (hereafter to be 
given,) of a very trying case of the abduction of a Nestorian 
girl, with the purpose of compelling her to profess herself 
a Mohammedan and marry the wretch who stole her away. 
Such tragic cases are not of unfrequent occurrence ; and the 
constant rush of oppressed and outraged Nestorians to the 
missionary, to whom they look as their protector, in the ab- 
sence of all others to care for them, imposes a burden which 
it requires the shoulders of a Hercules long to sustain. Mr. 
Rhea's warmly sympathetic heart never allowed him to 
spare aught of sleep or strength or personal safety, if 
by the sacrifice he could bring relief to the humblest 
sufferer. 

" He had charge also of the Armenian Department of our 
work, which, though in its incipient stage, required not a 
little care and correspondence, particularly as the helpers 
at the out-stations in Salmas were frequently and greatly 
annoyed by their persecuting enemies. 

"Last, not least, Mr. Rhea was a most indefatigable 
preacher — constantly to the Nestorians in modern Syriac, 
and often in Turkish to the Armenians. His sermons were 
always fresh and well elaborated, as though he had devoted 
most of his time to their preparation, while we marveled 
how he could find time thus to prepare a single sermon. 
With all his other pressing avocations, he ever regarded the 
preaching of the word as the missionary's prime and para- 
mount work. He was " a prince" among preachers, and no 
more moderate term would properly characterize him, while 
this fails to impart an adequate idea of the rare unction and 



A NEW FIELD ANL> NEW LABOES. 289 

the moving and overcoming power of the matter and the 
delivery of his sermons. 

"Added to all the active duties of Mr. Rhea were his 
hours of close study of languages and of the Scriptures, 
and his preparation of commentaries, which, it must be ac- 
knowledged, he was to a large extent obliged to redeem 
from midnight silence, while others were hushed in repose. 

" No other missionary ever in our field," says Dr. Perkins, 
"has possessed a better knowledge of modern Syriac or 
spoken it so well. No other member of our mission has 
ever become so familiar with every portion of our field and 
every department of our work. There is not a district, or 
hardly one, of the Nestorian country which he has not at 
some time occupied or superintended, and not a branch of 
our labors in which he has not personally engaged. And 
I hardly need add that whatever he put his hand to was 
sure to be well done, with a zest, skill and success peculiar 
to himself. His intimate acquaintance with all the dialects 
of the people, acquired by his familiarity with every portion 
of the field, and his experience in applying the language to 
all the various purposes of conversation, teaching, preach- 
ing, translation and preparation of commentaries, imparted 
a scope and finish to his use of it which no other mission- 
ary here has ever possessed. 

" His acquisitions in other languages of these countries 
besides the Syriac, as Turkish, Koordish and Persian, were 
also very considerable. He had for several months pre- 
vious to his death been perfecting his knowledge of Turkish 
preparatory to the great work of translating the Bible into 
that language, which is spoken by uncounted millions all 
the way from Hungary to India, and into the Central and 
Eastern dialects of which the Scriptures have never been 
translated. He had just commenced this great work, which 
was peculiarly congenial to his tastes, and engaged in it 
25 T 



290 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

with an interest, ardor and ability that characterized all 
his labors, and which could hardly have failed of success." 

Such was Mr. Rhea essentially during the five years that 
succeeded his return to Pei'sia. His character had taken 
its ripe, symmetrical shape as a goodly tree planted by the 
rivers of waters, its boughs spreading out year by year with 
a longer reach and more bountiful amplitude of leaf and 
fruit. He glorified the Father by bearing much fruit. 

While his brethren, yet grateful to God for his life of 
mingled beauty and strength, rejoice in his support and 
shade, let us devote the next chapters to considering the ex- 
citing influences under which God was developing in him 
so much fitness for present admiration and future glory. 
They will exhibit his Christlike efforts to succor the needy 
and distressed from famine and oppression, and the heavenly 
atmosphere of his happy home. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

HELP FOR THE OPPRESSED. 

ONE woe that never passes from the Christlike heart in 
a Mohammedan land is to be constantly lacerated in 
its sympathies. How long, O Lord ? is the ceaseless cry. 

Where there is no consul, as was the case in the North- 
west Province of Persia, the creation by a mission of a 
Mohammedan Department seemed of imperative necessity. 
While Mr. Rhea had charge of this department, his powers 
were taxed to the utmost. If missionaries and consuls, with 
all the vast shadow of European and American protection 
behind them, are yet sometimes greatly outraged, even mas- 
sacred, what are the daily deaths of unending oppression 
which wear out the poor Nestorians, away from the eyes 
of the nations, in the savage recesses of Koordistan and 
Persia ! 

As a part of his duty Mr. Rhea drew up the following 
statement which illustrates the facts we mention : 

A Statement with Reference to the Nestorian Christians of 
Persia (not including the larger numbers in Koordistan). 

1. They number about 25,000. 

2. The mass of them are in their own villages, and not 
mixed with other nationalities. 

3. The large majority of the villages are owned or fa- 
vored by a very few powerful khans. 

4. The Nestorian Christians in their present condition 
differ but little from serfs. They are attached to the soil 
to all intents and purposes. When a village is bought or 

291 



292 TENNESSEE AN IN PEESIA. 

sold, the rayats go with it, and they can't remove from one 
village to another to esca]De the oppressions of their mas- 
ters. If they do they are almost invariably brought 
back. 

5. With few exceptions the Christians are peasants, and 
cultivate the soil. Formerly, in farming the lands of their 
masters, they were permitted to furnish the seed and re- 
ceive two-thirds of the fruit of their labors ; but of late 
years the masters furnish the seed grain, and the rayats 
after furnishing all the labor both of men and teams, re- 
ceive one-third of the products. 

6. The Nestorians are kept down in a state of serfdom, 
because there are so many restrictions and barriers to en- 
tering any other employment. They are regarded as cere- 
monially unclean. Frequently, respectable Nestorians — 
in some cases ecclesiatics — have been cruelly beaten in the 
streets because they happened to touch a Mohammedan. 
With one or two exceptions they have never attempted to 
have shops in the bazaars. Their touch is pollution to a 
Mohammedan, and everything in the shape of milk, curds, 
butter, cheese, fruit coming through their hands is de- 
filed. 

7. They are helpless in the hands of their Mohammedan 
masters. The lands which they have been accustomed for 
ages to plough for bread may be taken at any time and 
turned into vineyards by their masters, and the water be- 
longing to the village, and necessary to the irrigation of 
the lands, may be, and often is, sold to other villages. The 
masters may exact from the rayats any amount of labor or 
any number of ploughs. They cannot legally exact more 
than two days' labor a year, and one plough from each 
house; but they often take ten laborers and as many 
ploughs in the busiest season of the year. Hence the 
rayats are at the caprice of men for the most part all- 



HELP FOE THE OPPRESSED. 293 

powerful, avaricious and oppressive ; and there is hardly a 
limit to their extortions and the extortions of their mohas- 
sils, moobasheers, darogas and their own servants, in the 
shape of forced labor, and exorbitant presents at their 
feasts, marriages and other occasions. 

8. Of late years the sanctity of the home and family 
relation of the poor Nestorian has become more and more 
defenceless. Masters, their sons and servants, can enter the 
houses of the peasants, to any extent decoy, allure, or force 
the female members of the family ; and, being miserably 
poor, the offer of new clothing and a comfortable living is 
often a greater temptation than they can bear. Within 
two years more than twenty-five females have been thus 
abducted, some willingly and others forcibly. There were 
cases in which little girls fourteen years of age were thus 
carried away ; and when, afterward, they were brought to 
our premises, and with their broken-hearted parents de- 
clared their unwillingness to become Musselmaus, they were 
still forced to do so. Some of these cases were represented 
to the sardar at Tabreez, but there was no redress. When 
a girl has been carried off, whether enticed or forced, she 
is kept closely confined for several days — in some cases 
violated — and then brought to the governor's — occasionally 
to our premises — surrounded by a crowd of Musselmans, to 
"declare whether she is a Christian or not. 

9. The testimony of Christians is not received in courts 
of justice. 

10. In cases of the murder of Christians there is seldom 
any redress obtained. There are murderers of Nestorians 
every day walking the streets who have never been pun- 
ished in any form. 

That Mr. Rhea most tenderly sympathized with the peo- 
ple in regard to whose sad earthly lot he wrote the preced- 
ing statement, is gratefully testified by the Nestorian whose 
25 * 



294 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

words helped to comfort the widow in her affliction. Mrs. 
Rhea records, in her brief sketch : 

" Yesterday I had a little call from Priest N'weya of 
Nazee. He said to me with tears, 'When your husband 
died I lost a father, and my village lost a father. When 
he came to us he generally would spend the night; and 
next morning, rising early, we would take a walk, first 
toward the brook and then into the grove, he talking pleas- 
antly and earnestly about the Christian life and about a 
pastor's duties until we got to some quiet spot, where we 
would kneel down and pray. And now,' he added, with 
deep emotion, 'when I walk there I remember him and 
those seasons of Christian communion, and every tree and 
stone and mound is a " heap of witnesses " to me and a 
monument to him. When we walked through the village 
and he beheld the poor, the destitute and the naked, he was 
quickly moved to pity, and would turn to me and say, " Give 
such an one a suit of clothes, and I will pay for it ;" and 
often thus from his bounty I have warmed and clothed the 
naked, even from head to foot.' And then turning to Ben- 
jamin, a poor, palsied cripple, destitute of this world's 
goods, but rich, we trust, in the kingdom of faith, he 
added ; ' He was always ready to contribute to the necessi- 
ties of this needy brother. If he did not come for several 
monthly concerts to the city, he would inquire for him and 
say, "How is the health of Benjamin? How is the health 
of his family ?" and when I arose to leave he would put 
something hard, wrapped up in a paper, into ray hand and 
gay, " Give that to Benjamin." ' I well remember Mr. Rhea's 
tender pity for this Benjamin, who seldom failed to ask and 
receive monthly aid from Mr. Rhea; and one monthly con. 
cert day, when we passed Benjamin in the yard, I said to 
my husband, ' There is your everlasting protege, Benjamin, 
come again. Don't you get tired of him ?' He said, gently, 



HELP FOR THE OPPRESSED. 295 

' I try not to, for the Master's sake. I am sure he is one 
of Christ's poor.' 

"The winter of 1862 was one of great scarcity and suffer- 
ing in Oroomiah. Beggars abounded. Our yards were 
never free from them. They flocked about the stair-steps 
and doors, so that sometimes we could scarcely get in and 
out, and attacked us with doleful importunities whenever 
they could find us. Mr. Ehea gave and gave — white money 
and black — bread and clothes — until prudence demurred, 
and we began to feel it seriously. The more we investigated 
and tried to relieve the wretchedness and suffering from 
nakedness and famine, the nioi^e we were impressed with 
the magnitude and hopelessness of the task before us. Mr. 
Rhea said we must save for the poor and practice self-denial 
in every way we could ; he should give up drinking coffee, 
and that I must buy and make no more. We had a strug- 
gle. I would not obey. I knew that his health required 
regular and simple though nutritious food ; and the slight 
tonic effect of the breakfast cup of coffee had been so mani- 
fest in Mr. Rhea that I could not consent to banish this 
very moderate luxury from my Persian housekeeping. -By 
and by generous gifts began to come from American and 
English Christians for the relief of the poverty-stricken 
around us. The funds we received were divided equally 
among the missionaries for distribution, so as to reach all 
parts of the field. Large quantities of the cheapest calico 
and strong cotton cloth were purchased w^holesale from the 
bazaar and given out piece by piece and garment by gar- 
ment for men, women and children and pinched and shiverr 
ing babies, until the naked and famishing were clothed and 
fed, and widows' and orphans' hearts sang for joy. 

The abuses to which the Nestorians are subjected is well 
illustrated in the following narration by Mr. Rhea : 



296 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 



THE STORY OP NEEGIS. 

On Thursday, at the dead hour of night, fifteen artillery- 
men, heavily armed, came into the village of Digga, just 
under the shadow of our city walls, rushed upon the roof 
and dragged from her bed the daughter of Baba, the chief 
man of the village, a girl fifteen years of age. Her cries 
for help aroused the villagers. They ran to her rescue, 
fought desperately with the ruffians, but were overpowered. 
Two of her uncles were severely wounded ; one is now at the 
point of death. But all was in vain ; though the poor girl 
herself made a desperate resistance, she soon had to yield 
under the blows of the soldiers. She was dragged by the 
tresses of her hair from the village, her cries imploring 
help being heard to the last. Before light the intelli- 
gence of her seizure was brought to our premises. Know- 
ing her well, having often stopped at her house, and from 
her modest demeanor being satisfied that she was entirely 
innocent, that it was a most flagrant case of violence, and 
that without the promptest measures in a short time she 
would be made a victim of Moslem lust and fanaticism, I 
resolved to use all the strength and influence of our mission 
to save her. 

I sent at once to Rejab Ali Khan, colonel of artillery, 
and stated the case. He promised that in two hours the 
girl and the guilty soldiers should be brought to our prem- 
ises, and, if the facts were as above stated, the soldiers 
should be severely punished. In the mean time a very 
affecting scene took place in my room : the chief men of 
the Nestorians, bishops and priests, had gathered in ; they 
seemed entirely broken down. Strong men wept, and 
smote upon their breasts ; and especially when the bloody 
garments of the uncle, who had fought so nobly the night 
before to save his niece, were brought in, there was a gen- 



HELP FOR THE OPPRESSED. 297 

eral outburst of sobbing and lamentation. The women 
wailed, laid hold of my skirts and implored my help. 

The two hours were up, and the girl was not brought. 
I went to the Persian general and told him this matter must 
not be protracted. It was the most flagrant case that had ever 
happened here, and the greatest insult that had for many 
years been offered to a peoj)le already in the deepest straits 
of oppression. The girl must be forthcoming ! He prom- 
ised, with the most solemn oaths, that before sunset she 
would be in the city on his premises, alleging she was in a 
distant village. At sunset I went again. The girl had 
been found, but had not been brought to the general's 
premises. He had gathered in his moollahs, ready at the 
first moment to pronounce the irrevocable sentence that 
she was a Musselman, and espouse her. No one of Ner- 
gis' relatives had been permitted to see her. No one knew to 
what she may have been subjected during the twenty hours 
that had elapsed since her seizure. The general insisted 
that she should be brought at once and questioned. I de- 
clined, apprehending that she may have been terrified, and 
the matter was compromised by her removal from the 
house of a fellow-soldier of Ferraj, her captor, to the house 
of Buyuh Agha, a Musselman, but an old and tried friend 
of Nergis' father. 

I left the general, and after waiting until there was time 
for her transfer, though it was ten o'clock at night, and she 
was conveyed to a remote part of the city, I determined to 
see her. Accompanied by Deacon Isaac and a number of 
her friends, we went to Buyuh Agha's. We found poor 
Nergis there, and heard from her own lips the story of her 
seizure and her feelings of despair for many long hours, not 
knowing that anything could be done for her. In the pres- 
ence of all in the room — Nestorians and Mussulmans — she 
made the strongest protestations of her fidelity to her own 



298 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

religion, and declared her readiness to die rather than be- 
come a Mussulman. I returned home with a light heart. 
The poor Nestorians were overjoyed. We felt satisfied that 
Nergis would stand firm through the trying ordeal before 
her. Morning came. We heard that at midnight a party 
of moollahs had gone to the house where Nergis was, and 
spent hours in attempting to induce her to abjure her re- 
ligion ; but it was all in vain. The general had promised 
that at an early hour the girl should be brought, and if she 
made her confession that she was a Christian and had been 
violently carried off, she should be released and the soldiers 
severely punished. We went to his house, but the girl was 
not brought. 

In the mean time Ferraj was brought out into the court, 
and the general went through the process of administering a 
mock bastinado. I remonstrated against this, knowing it 
was a trick to gain time, to make a favorable impression as 
to his impartiality, and to palliate the detestable course he 
was about to take in order to make a victim of the girl. 
The beating, such as it was, being over, still Nergis was not 
brought. I pressed the general ; he said she should be 
brought at once to the house of a moollah living near by. 
We went there — the moollahs assembled— still Nergis was 
not brought. After waiting some time, I returned to the 
general and requested him to excuse me from waiting fur- 
ther, as I was satisfied it was not his intention to have her 
brought. Soon a man came in and said Buyuh Agha was 
demanding twenty tomans to let the girl leave his house, and 
that this was for the generq,!. I turned to him and re^ 
monstrated against such an enormity. The Nestorians, 
however, made up the sum, and were ready to give it, not 
to secure Nergis' release, but only to have her brought be^ 
fore a moollah to say whether or not she was a Mussulman, 

The general seemed ashamed and embarrassed that his 



HELP FOE THE OPPRESSED. 299 

cupidity was brought out to the light, but he consented that 
the girl should be brought to the house of the moollah at 
once. It was announced that she was brought. The gene- 
ral accompanied us to his gate. We supposed he was going 
with us, but a letter was placed in his hands ; he read it, 
and then excused himself from going farther. Instead of 
going just across the way to the house of the moollah, where 
I had gone in the morning, and who was quite a friend of 
Dr. Wright's, I found Nergis was to be brought to the house 
of Meerza Ali Akbar, the chief mooshtaheed — a grand old 
hypocrite, and full of venom toward the Christians. 

He was the same man who last year forced a little Ar- 
menian girl to become a Mussulman, though she declared 
herself a Christian in the presence of a large number of 
Mussulmans. A large number of moollahs and seids were 
gathered in the room. I never saw a more perfect specimen 
of an old Pharisee ; his great white turban, his sancti- 
monious mien, his eyes rolling heavenward, his measured 
and pompous utterances ! He opened the conversation by 
saying, with great pomp of expression : 

" It has been recently communicated to me that an in- 
dividual had manifested her choice to become a Mussulman." 

He was then interrupted, and instead of choice, he and 
all present were informed that she was violently dragged 
from her bed at midnight by a party of armed soldiers, and 
she was to be brought into his presence, so that he could 
from her own lips satisfy himself that this statement was 
not true. 

He was brought to a stand. Then rolling his eyes and 
elongating his face to a painful extent, he laid his hand on 
a large red book, and said he had just been reading a con- 
versation that took place between Jesus and the devil, the 
purport of which was that everything should be doue with 
great deliberation. 



300 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

He had no doubt made up this story for the occasion, and 
adapted it to the case in hand. He did not intend to 
question the girl then, but after a few days. I told him 
that if he would listen but five minutes to her story, he 
would be satisfied that it was a case of violence and a great 
outrage. I entreated him in the name of justice and 
humanity to release her ; but no ! " She was in an excited 
state of mind ; she must be kept quiet ; her friends were 
crowding around her." Then turning to the large crowd 
of Nestorians who had gathered in, intensely interested to 
see what was to be Nergis' fate, he waved his arm and 
said: 

" Away with you ; you have no place in this court. Go 
to your work. Away ! away !" 

His servants and some fierce seids who were around beat 
them from his court. I felt it was a time for apprehension. 
The market was close by, and a word from the arch-fanatic 
would have kindled a fire which would have swept the 
Christians away in its fury. Nergis was brought. As she 
passed through the yard her cries were heard : " I am a 
Christian ! I am a Christian !" 

I said to the moollah : " Don't you hear her ? Can you 
doubt or hesitate to let her go ?" 

He was unwilling, and said she must remain in his house 
a few days, and then be questioned. 

This was not assented to for a moment; for we knew, 
once in his hands, her fate was sealed. With great dif- 
ficulty we got him to consent to let her choose where she 
would spend the night. He sent Kyasin Agha to ask her. 
She said, " I want to go to the sahib's" (the missionary). 
The reply was, " That can't be." " Then let me go where 
I was — to Buyuh Agha's, my father's friend." This was 
assented to. Kyasin Agha came in, and said to the 
moollah, in the presence of all the moollahs, " Why are 



HELP FOR THE OPPRESSED. 301 

you detaining her? Twenty times she declares she will 
never become a Mussulman." 

Still the moollah refused to return her. He hoped yet to 
get thirty of the one hundred tomans that had been offered 
the general if he and the moollahs would carry the case 
through. He angrily remanded her back to Buyuh Agha's. 
I felt an unspeakable relief when I saw her pass out of the 
gate of the old bigot and under the protection of one who 
would defend her to the last ; and I felt a greater relief 
when I got back home, with the large crowd of Nestorians, 
whom I could not keep from following me. I knew a spark 
would set on fire and kindle to a blaze the sleeping passions 
of Moslem fanaticism. 

There was no time to be lost — Nergis must be got out of 
their hands. The case was stated to the vizier, acting gov- 
ernor during the prince's absence. He promised she should 
be brought in the evening. Evening came, but she was not 
produced. I went again to Rejab Ali Khan, and he prom- 
ised that in one hour she should be brought. An hour and 
a half passed ; but he had gone to the bath, and there was 
no evidence of the girl's being brought. I then sent him 
word that we would give him no further trouble, and that 
he would have to answer at Tabreez for the part he had 
played in this disgraceful affair. He sent two or three 
times afterward to exculpate himself, but I had no further 
intercourse with him. 

I again went to the vizier's and requested a guard, know- 
ing that as long as Rejab Ali Khan's men were prowling 
around there was no security for Nergis. In lieu of his 
failing to bring her to his court-town and investigate the 
case, he consented to give a guard and became security for 
her until morning. 

In the morning the bishops and chief men gathered in 
the vizier's court and demanded the captive girl. But it 
26 



302 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

was evident the vizier too had been bribed. He put them 
off — said he was afraid of the moollahs. The approach of 
the prince-governor was announced. The Nestorians turned 
out in large numbers to meet him ; they held up the bloody 
garment ; women covered their heads with ashes and lifted 
up their voices in lamentation. The prince promised to 
send for her at once. In the evening, from the interview 
held with him, it was evident he did not intend to release 
her, but only involve the case more and more. He too was 
bribed. He said, " She must come spend the night at his 
house; his khanum would talk with her — he himself would 
talk with her. In the morning the moollahs would be 
assembled and the case disposed of." Word was at once 
sent to Buyuh Agha not to give up the girl. Though the 
prince is an old man, still, knowing his vile propensities, I 
knew there would be no security for the girl in his house. 
Officers were sent once and again, but Buyuh Agha evaded 
them until, at midnight, everything being quiet, he con- 
veyed Nergis away to another part of the city. 

Having seen what the prince's intentions were, and de- 
spairing of any redress in Oroomiah, at two o'clock the next 
morning Deacon Isaac left for Tabreez, to lay the case be- 
fore the English consul. Very early on Monday morning 
the officers of the prince gathered around Buyuh Agha's 
door and pressed him for the girl. ' For a time he was able 
to evade them. While he was putting them off, in company 
with the vizier, Meerza Nejef Ali, the chief of the Chris- 
tians, and the bishops and prominent men who had gathered 
in from the villages, I went to the court-room of the prince. 
We did not intend the girl should be brought until the 
moollahs were assembled also ; but she was brought. The 
vizier, though urged to hear her story, refused ; she must 
go into the harem. As I saw the poor girl pass in I feared 
the worst. For three hours every effort was made to induce 



HELP FOR THE OPPRESSED. 303 

her to become a Mussulman ; she was threatened with beat- 
ing and death ; she was promised a village ; strings of 
pearls were brought and held up before her. 

She said, " I do not want your jewels ; I have enough in 
my father's house. I do not fear your threats ; kill me, 
disjoint me, cut me to pieces. I will never be a Mussul- 
man ; my burial shall be a Christian one ; I will lie down 
in a Nestorian graveyard." 

We waited for a number of hours, hoping the prince 
would come out of his harem ; but he did not. He hoped 
the girl would come to terms. Finally old Meerza Ali 
Akbar writes a note to the prince ; the priftce sends it to 
his court-room; the mooshtaheed writes, informing the 
assembly of the new convert to Mohammedanism, says he 
has not interfered in the case, and requests that Meerza 
Nejef Ali, the chief of the Christians, come to his house to 
talk over the matter Meerza "Nejef Ali bounced to his feet 
and cried out, "When has a new convert been made to 
[slam ? The evidence is all the other way. Shall I go to 
the moollah ? Let him come to me. Shall I remain here 
longer? Can I anymore hold up my head when things 
are managed in this way ?" He was in a towering passion 
for a moment, but the vizier and the prince did not let him 
leave. After an hour three of the principal moollahs were 
called in. With the prince, vizier and Meerza Nejef Ali 
they went into the harem. Again the noble girl passed the 
ordeal like a heroine. Undaunted, she declared her deter- 
mination to die a Christian. The old moollahs came out 
shaking their heads and saying, "It won't do; she can never 
be made a Mussulman." 

During the day frequent reports were brought that hun- 
dreds of Mussulmans were gathered about Meerza Ali Ak- 
bar's door, stirring him up to press the matter and force the 
girl to become a Mussulman. It was also reported that 



304 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

several times he threatened to give a sentence for the 
slaughter of the Christians. He ordered the stores to be 
closed and business to be suspended. Said he, " If such 
things are permitted, Mohammedanism is at an end." The 
prince, seeing, after th« moollahs had been in, that he could 
not accomplish his object, sent the girl out of the inner 
court to the outer, where some Nestorian joiners were at 
work. The good joiners during the forenoon had frequently 
gone in, and, as they found opportunity, spoke words of 
comfort to Nergis, assuring her that, if she would only be 
patient, all would be well. Nergis sat down and ate bread 
with them. Her female relatives came in and saw her, and 
it seemed as if light was beginning to dawn. In the after- 
noon Nergis was committed into the hands of the Nestorian 
agent, Meerza Nejef Ali. 

We supposed she was virtually released, and that she 
would be sent to our premises at nine o'clock in the evening. 
But the night passed, and she did not come. Early the 
next morning, much to our surprise, she was remanded to 
the court-room of the prince. The great mooshtaheed, with 
his moollahs, came in with quite a swell and parade. Nergis 
was called in, and again passed through the ordeal. But 
her words were few. She stepped forward, took hold of the 
moollah's skirt, and said, " What kind of a religion is this 
that you are attempting to compel me to embrace? Are 
you not ashamed thus to persecute me?" The grand old 
bigot hung his head, and the whole party were overwhelmed 
with mortification. The moollah rose to his feet, and strik- 
ing the ground forcibly with his long cane, had the audacity 
to say that a number of Mussulmans had testified to him 
that they had heard from ISTergis' lips that she was a 
Mussulman, 

Said he, " There is no remedy. She must go to Tabreez, 



HELP FOR THE OPPRESSED. 305 

and the case be investigated there. When such proceed- 
ings are tolerated, Islam has gone by the board." 

Unfortunately, just after this speech, as he went down the 
steps, his foot slipped, and he sprawled in a very undig- 
nified manner on the stairway, while his great white turban 
rolled ignominiously in the dirt, greatly to his mortification, 
but much to the enjoyment of the Nestorian bystanders. 
Nergis was again sent back to Meerza Nejef All's for the 
night. The only thing remaining now was to stipulate about 
the present to be given to the prince to get her out. He 
had not by any means darkly hinted that he must have his 
present. Meerza Nejef Ali wrote to him in the evening 
that he wished to commit Nergis to her friends. The reply 
was that he must delay — there was fear from the moollahs. 
Of course he only wished to increase his present. But be- 
fore this reply was received Nergis hearing that they were 
bargaining to get her release, took the matter into her own 
hands, climbed over the wall and came to our house. A 
boy soon came running in, and said, " They are beating 
Khatoon" (Nergis' aunt). She, too, attempted to escape, 
but failed, and the servants fell to beating her. Meerza 
Nejef Ali was informed of what had taken place, and he 
readily consented that Nergis should not be taken from our 
house, and that Khatoon, her aunt, might go home. Thus 
terminated this very trying case. 
26* U 



CHAPTER XXII. 

HOME INFLUENCES. 

IN connection with his condensed and vivid account of 
Mr. Rhea's abundant labors. Dr. Perkins suggests : 

" The inquiry naturally arises, Why did he not sooner 
break down under such a burden of care, responsibility and 
toil ? Primarily, I should say, his domestic bliss exerted 
on him a marvelous sustaining and rejuvenating influence. 
The faithful and joyous companion of his bosom was lite- 
rally and emphatically ' the delight of his eyes,' while the 
beautiful olive plants that were springing up around his 
table contributed largely also to fill to the brim his cup of 
enjoyment. Often, indeed, the quiet of his meals was inter- 
rupted by the intrusion of suffering ones seeking bodily or 
spiritual relief, but he did not allow such intrusions seri- 
ously to impair the hallowed delights and duties of his 
home. He was almost uniformly well, strong and buoyant 
under his accumulated cares and labors. 

" Sacred music also, of which he was rapturously fond, 
contributed materially to sustain him under the unwonted 
pressure of his missionary toils, especially as associated with 
that joy in the Lord and communion with Christ which 
were more habitual with him than with almost any other 
individual I have ever known. He also had a keen zest 
and an abiding delight in his missionary work, particularly 
in preaching the gospel, which seemed ever to exert on him 
a recuperating power. 

" Mr. r hea's moments of relaxation in his family were 

306 



HOME INrLUENCES. 307 

always fruitful moments. The little prattlers upon his knee 
were entertained by some Scripture narrative told in his 
own inimitable style, and Jesus became the presiding genius 
of his dwelling in the minds and on the lips of those little 
ones, long before they could distinctly pronounce that 
' sweetest name on earth or in heaven.' " 

The first months of their residence in Persia, before Dr. 
Perkins' return, was in his house at Seir ;* but December 

* We can here appropriately introduce an illustration of the Seir 
mission-premises, with a brief sketch by the Kev. H. N. Cobb. 

The name of Seir is inseparably associated with the history of the 
Nestorian mission. Residing for a large part of the year in Oroomiah, 
their early experience was one of great suffering — almost constant 
sickness and frequent deaths, especially of children. A retreat was 
absolutely necessary from the extreme heat of the city and the poison- 
ous exhalations of the plain. A suitable spot for such a retreat was 
early found at Seir, a small village of perhaps a hundred inhabitants, 
about six miles west fi'om the city, and at an elevation of one thou- 
sand feet above it, on the eastern slope of the mountain of the same 
name. The mission premises are represented in the cut annexed. A 
court surrounded by a high wall of mud and with circular towers of 
the same material at each corner form the enclosure ; an arrangement 
made necessary by the danger of incursions from the thievish Koords. 
This court is divided in the middle by a continuous row of buildings 
of sun-dried brick and mud containing permanent residences for three 
families. The view from the roof is commanding and beautiful, em- 
bracing the broad plain dotted with villages ; the city, almost hidden 
in the midst of the dense foliage of its gardens ; the lake, and the 
mountains, encircling lake and plain on every hand. 

Seir is also the seat of the Male Seminary. As such it has been the 
scene of most earnest and devoted labors on the part of those connected 
with the Seminary, and of precious and powerful revivals among the 
students. It is hardly too much to hope that Seir may one day be to 
the revived and reformed Nestorian Church what the famous school 
at Edessa was to their ancient Church. 

Seir also has an interest, as proving, in its own history, the power 
of the gospel as taught in its school. Originally it was a village of 



308 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

13, 1861, Mr. Ehea notes briefly: "Moved to the city; en- 
tered our new home." It was a consecrated residence, left 
by Mr. Breath, recently gone to the house of many man- 
sions, hallowed by his prayers and those of his poet-wife, 
whose words of song have cheered many of our hearts. 
Mr. Rhea adds: "Sarah and Annie rode down with 
Mr. Coan. Daniel had moved all our effects with great 
care. Spent the evening at Mr. Cobb's. Discussed Turk- 
ish with Doctor. Afternoon very stormy." Do you ask, 
Who is Annie ? Let the mother tell : 

" The next summer after our arrival in Oroomiah our 
mission was blessed by a visit from Dr. Dwight, of Constan- 
tinople, and Mr. Wheeler, of Kharput. Dr. Dwight had 
recently buried his beloved wife, and the fine gold of his 
Christian character, fresh from the purifying crucible of 
such an affliction, showed lustrously. His gentle, chastened 
manner and heavenly-mindedness, his affectionate kindness 
and deep interest in our work, his encouraging comments 
and his wise counsels, won the hearts of all and greatly 
deepened our already-formed attachment to him. A month 

highway robbers. Now it is believed that every family is represented 
in the little community of believers. One who was once the leader 
of the gang of robbers has been for many years a leading communi- 
cant, a sort of elder and a trusted messenger of the mission. 

And there attaches a sorrowful interest to Seir by reason of the 
deaths that have occui'red there and the graves of those devoted ser- 
vants of God, or of their little ones, whose remains slumber peacefully 
in the little cemetery on the mountain-side (seen on the right of the 
picture). Stoddard, and Thompson, and Breath, and Wright, and 
Rhea, and a company of little ones whose dust is dear to those who 
laid them there — these all lie buried in that little cemetery. No one 
can visit that spot, — no one can rightly think of it — and not feel thnt 
it is hallowed, or without feeling how holy and precious the work is 
in which and for which these laid down their lives or the lives of 
those tliev loved. 



\^fk^Ji4»^'M 1, , 



m 






# ,* if yzs 




■ VS-F -C 



'iiiiiiii 
if 






m 



I r 



'// - "'"///' 



HOME INFLUENCES. 311 

after his departure the Lord mercifully remembered us in 
the gift of a little daughter, whom we named after her two 
grandmothers and this beloved missionary-father, Annie 
Dwight. Our first-born saw the light at Seir, August 24, 
1861. In the following years there were given to us two 
sons and another little daughter, as follows : Foster Aud- 
ley, born in Oroomiah, January 24, 1863 ; Kobert Leigh- 
ton, May 13, 1864 ; Sophia Perkins, April 18, 1866." 

The development of paternal feelings in Mr. Rhea seemed 
to add many cubits to his stature morally. These precious 
treasures, so beautiful and so perfect in his esteem, excited 
the liveliest gratitude towa^'d the Giver ; the relations of the 
heavenly Father toward us, his believing children, were 
more clearly discerned than ever before. In many ways it 
was a means of grace to Mr. Rhea to be a father. The im- 
mortal souls of the little beings committed to his care at 
once became the most sacred and responsible trust. If he 
loved and needed the mercy-seat before, how much more 
now ! If the promise was precious and comprehensive be- 
fore, how much more so now ! " For the promise is unto 
you and to your children," Acts ii. 39. When he entered 
into covenant with Jehovah for his children in the holy or- 
dinance of baptism, it was with the profoundest realization 
of the height and depth, the length and breadth of the tem- 
poral and eternal privileges involved, so far as a finite 
being can realize and appropriate them. 

In Mr. Rhea's intercourse with his children, Annie par- 
ticularly, who was old enough to receive religious impres- 
sions, the keystone of all his words was " the dear Jesus." 
Even the younger children, Foster and Robert, before they 
knew anything else in books, knew all their little hearts 
could hold of " the dear Jesus." Their father said if their 
young minds were preoccupied with Jesus and salvation 
through his death, they would not so easily fall into Satan's 



312 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

snares. From the rich treasury of Scripture lore he drew 
all his teachings for the children ; all his stories, all his 
evening entertainments, all his moral principles and all his 
illustrations. It was the Alpha and Omega, the beginning 
and the end, the ever fresh, ever relished, ever flowing foun- 
tain from which he daily caused their young lips to drink. 
He most literally fulfilled the Mosaic precept (in Deut. vi.) : 
" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and 
with all thy soul and with all thy might ; and these words 
which I command thee this day shall be in thy heart, and 
thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and 
shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house and when 
thou walkest by thy way, and when thou liest down and 
when thou risest up." 

Every evening when the supper-table was cleared away, 
the happiest hour of all the day, her father would sit in 
his big chair, with Annie on his knee, and talk about Jesus, 
always about Jesus ! The same theme ! It never wore out ! 
How he was born and lived and died, and why ! Philoso- 
phers cannot exhaust the theme in its deep, eternal mys- 
teries, and angels long to look into it ; and yet this theme 
the father constantly unfolded to that infant mind, and it 
was understood. Oh, with what delight it was received ! 
how beautifully it was unfolded ! And then, when the les- 
son was finished and the Book closed, the child, unsatisfied, 
would beg a little song. What shall I sing, Annie ? Sing 
about Jesus! And he had made "a little song," a low, 
sweet, gentle chant, beginning with the star of the wise men 
and the shepherd's vision, and ending with the ascension of 
the Son of Man in clouds to heaven. And then the little 
one, filled full and satisfied, climbed down, and knelt and 
prayed and kissed her father's lips, and said good-night. 

"Mr. Rhea was the most loving of fathers as he was the 
kindest of husbands. He always took upon himself the 



HOME INFLUENCES. 313 

heaviest part of the burden and care when the children 
were sick and' in danger, watching them night after night 
when necessary, always ready to wake and rise to soothe 
their fears and supply their wants. He seemed to do these 
things as by an instinctive impulse ; no one asked him to 
do them ; but they were done before a duller ear could wake" 
or a slower hand could reach. The burdens, cares, anxie- 
ties, watchings and labors that devolved upon him as a 
father were always borne patiently and without complaint, 
though sometimes they were very heavy. 

Many times these traits were sorely put to the test. 
" When Annie was about a year old and very sick," writes 
Mrs, Rhea, "we were advised to carry her to the cooler 
regions of Tergawar. We performed the journey in the 
dark, stopping at midnight in a wild place to feed the horses 
and rest. We arrived at Nuebi about five o'clock in the 
morning. Annie grew gradually worse. We were in a 
tent, a very uncomfortable place for the tender invalid. At 
noon the heat of the sun was most intense and the glare 
blinding ; and when the wind blew at all, clouds of dust 
accompanied it. But the nights were chilly ; so that the 
changes of temperature in the course of twenty-four hours 
were very great. The natives came around us in crowds, 
curious and impertinent. Mr. Rhea always received them 
patiently and kindly, omitting no opportunities to speak to 
them of Christ, and not hesitating to dismiss them when he 
thought it necessary. Sometimes the Mussulman master of 
the village would make a visit of ceremony, when I had to 
vacate part of the tent and retire behind a curtain with my 
sick child, to whom the noise of conversation was very 
annoying. 

" One day we had furious gusts of wind, which made the 
tent intolerable, and, indeed, dangerous, for it was almost 
carried bodily away. So we moved into a native house— a 
27 



314 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

wretched hovel near — first cleaning out one corner to spread 
our carpet and the baby's bed. Immediately, an onset was 
made by innumerable fleas, and we were half devoured. 
At the time of lighting the native ovens, the smoke came 
in through the crevices in the mud walls and almost put 
our eyes out. At best our little, close room was dark and 
hot, and at midnight it began to rain, and poured in dirty 
torrents through the sieve-like roof I was in despair, but 
not so Mr. Ehea ; his patience was inexhaustible, and his 
resources equal to all emergencies. He quickly threw a 
rubber over the little bed, and went out to sweep the- roof 
and fill the cracks with mud. By day, by night, his place 
was by the baby's bed. He did not seem to lose himself in 
sleep a moment. We had written on Thursday to Oroo- 
miah to have burial-clothes prepared in case they might 
be needed, and to apprise our friends of our great sorrows. 
The same night Mr. Cochran and Miss Crawford came to 
us and stayed till Saturday morning, when we all started 
home together. Although our child was in a dying state, 
we thought we could bring her over the road even more 
comfortably than we could keep her there, and so our 
friends advised. Annie rode part of the time in cajavas 
on a pillow in her nurse's arms, but the most of the way her 
father walked and carried her ; and so, traveling slowly and 
carefully, we came safely and without harm to our home. 
When our doctor saw Annie he thought she was dead. 
But God was pleased in mercy to accept her parents' 
broken-hearted submission ; and in answer to her father's 
prayers, perhaps, the stroke was stayed and our first-born 
was spared." 

In 1863 Mrs. Rhea writes to friends in Tennessee of great 
comfort in the health and prattle of their children, while 
their own patience was tried by the prolonged discomfort 
and sometimes agony of ophthalmia. 



HOME INFLUENCES. 315 

The following letter, written August 11, 1863, discloses 
a great sorrow. Think of the eyes aching with ophthalmia, 
the dim, twilight-room, darkened in that Persian home, with 
" thick curtains and blue blankets," and the sad heart of 
Mr. Rhea inditing these tender words : 

" And is my dear father dead ? Did you stand around 
his dying bed ? Did you close his eyes in death ? Did you 
lay him down gently to rest, where more than twenty years 
ago he said to me, pointing to the spot, ' There they will 
lay me!' I remember well how my heart filled full and I 
turned away, wondering what would become of me if I 
should then lose such a father. But God spared me then 
that great sorrow and that great loss. Our deeply revered 
and beloved father continued to be to us a beautiful staflP, 
on which our mother and we, each of us, leaned and felt that 
it was strong. 

" We could not expect always to keep him who seemed 
so necessary to us. We could not expect to detain him 
from the home toward which for nearly fifty years he had 
been traveling, for which he had been ripening, and was 
now fully ripe. During how many years we have trem- 
blingly looked upon the wasting of his earthly house ? How 
we longed to believe that our dear father was not dying, 
when every day, for a number of years, death was doing its 
silent but true work. God strangely, but to us oh how mer- 
cifully, lengthened out that frail life, and seemed to endow 
father with an unnatural fortitude and energy, as if he 
would not die until he had done his work. Let us from 
hearts deeply grateful, though deeply bleeding, praise God 
that he so long heard our prayers and spared to us him in 
whom our earthly and spiritual well-being seemed bound 
up. Let us praise God for the inestimable gift of such a 
father, such a life, such an example, such a friend. One 
of my first thoughts was, 'What shall dear mother do?' 



316 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

and then I was at a loss to know ; but then I said, God's grace 
will be all-sufficient. Yes, dear mother, he will never leave 
nor forsake you ; he will be all and in all to you. Dear 
brothers and sisters, in spirit I want to kneel with you 
around the grave of our deeply revered and now sainted 
father, and vow in God's strength to take up his mantle and 
walk in his footsteps until we shall meet him in heaven. 
My heart is full, but my eyes will not permit me to write 
more now." 

" In the autumn of 1864," Mrs. Khea tells us, " when we 
reached Gavalan, returning from a tour to Salmas, our lit- 
tle Foster was taken very sick and had convulsions. We 
were exceedingly distressed and frightened. We remained 
there in the mission-house over the Sabbath, but resumed 
our journey Monday, carrying the little sufferer in our arms, 
in high fever most of the way, and doing all we could* to 
make him comfortable in the heat and dust of the road. 
We reached home near evening the same day. But the 
city was very unhealthy at that time, and we felt obliged to 
retreat to the mountain, where we had only two rough up- 
per rooms and few comforts. Foster's disease now assumed 
the form of obstinate fever and ague, which also attacked 
me and prostrated me completely. At the same time 
Annie was seized with the most violent ophthalmia in both 
eyes. The lids were so swollen and inflamed that she 
could not open them, while scalding tears kept running 
down her cheeks ; temporarily blind, she went groping 
about, not able to see, but pierced with frantic pains by 
every sunbeam. Our babe, Robert, too, fell sick and Avilted 
down under a consuming fever. 

" Can I ever forget Mr. Rhea in those days ? — his pa- 
tience, his cheerfulness, his tenderness, his manly strength ; 
now sitting at my bedside bathing the throbbing temples, 



HOME INFLUENCES. 317 

amusing Foster, feeding or soothing him, weighing out and 
administering our medicines, carrying baby, rocking him, 
singing in soft tones, telling Annie about Jesus, while the 
patient child, charmed, would sit with upturned face, obliv- 
ious of her pain. Not an impatient word, look or act ; no, 
not one ; but instead a firm and quiet trust in God, whose 
providence had ordained for us such dark and suffering 
days. 

" This way which he had of receiving adverse dealings 
from the Omnipotent Hand made him a happy Chris- 
tian and a happy man in all the relations of this suffering 
life." 

The third child of Mr. Rhea, named after the holy Arch- 
bishop Leighton, seemed designed of heaven to ripen the 
most heavenly graces in the heart of his father. He often 
called him "the little archbishop," and frequently said, 
" There is something so pui'e and holy about the child, I 
feel rebuked in his presence." 

The child was extremely fond of his father, and had the 
gift of resting him when worn with cares. When, tired 
from his day's labor in the study, Mr. Rhea came in to 
supper, he would snatch Robert up from the floor, place 
him on his shoulder and gallop around the room, with 
Annie and Foster at his heels, and before many circuits 
the weary, worried look on his face and print oi'^' crow's feet" 
on his brow would disappear. Seated at table with Robert 
at his elbow in the high chair, you could not have told that 
that happy, genial father had ever seen trouble and care. 
While the blessing was being asked Robert would " pray " 
too, little chubby hands over his eyes and rosebud lips mur- 
muring musically. 

So the child grew, increasing in loveliness and precious- 
ness every day for one year and one week, and then he was 
smitten down suddenly in the richest bloom of health. He 
27* 



318 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

had a few days of dreadful sickness, and then Jesus took 
him away. 

The same week Mr. Rhea wrote the following letter to 
one similarly stricken : 

Oroomiah, May 23, 1865. 

Dear Brother Williams: Your letter was sad and 
it found us sad. You wrote of your angel Willie, and our 
hearts bowed in sorrow, by faith responded ; we too have 
an angel, Robert. You wrote of a desolate home; and 
when we went to our home in town, where Robert came up 
at every step and turn — came only in memory — we, could 
not but exclaim, as a sense of our desolation came over us, 
"The child is not; and I — whither shall I go?" 

We own a little green turf now. We laid him under it 
yesterday. And how beautiful he was in death ! It was 
hard to believe it, but Annie even seemed fully to under- 
stand it, as she often repeated, " It is only his little body. 
Robert is in heaven with Jesus." It was hard to believe 
it and lay that beautiful clay in the bosom of its mother 
earth ; but we asked for help to do it, and God helped us. 
We gently laid him down in faith of a glorious resurrection. 

We never thought we should keep him — so we said ; but 
now we know that we knew not what we were saying. We 
expected to keep him. It was a sad surprisal. He was 
very different from Annie and Foster. So beautiful, and 
perfectly gentle, with so much of strength, energy and seri- 
ousness in his character, that if an angel had come down 
to give us an example of angel infancy he would not have 
deported himself differently from little Robert. 

Just five days he suffered from an obstinate dysentery. 
All was done for him that we knew how to do; but he was 
on his way home — we could not detain him — and at seven 
last Sabbath morning he fell asleep. 

I thank the blessed Saviour that here on earth he called 



HOME INFLUENCES. 319 

a little child to him — that he took him up in his arms and 
put his hand on his head and blessed him. 

It was hard to have him go alone — we not with him — 
through the dark valley ; but the angels were around him 
and the arms of Jesus at the other end to welcome him. 
Could it be possible that their angels, which do always 
behold the face of their Father, should not have been des- 
patched as a convoy to the gates of the heavenly city ? 

I have written two or three little funeral sermons for 
little children who have died here, intended, too, to comfort 
the bereaved; but I wonder at it now. It was presumption. 
I knew nothing of that sorrow. I talked about it; now it 
has become a part of me. The heart has found a new expe- 
rience ; sleeping sensibilities have been touched ; a sealed 
fountain of tears has been opened ; the tongue utters a new 
language of grief; and now, if I met a parent similarly 
bereaved, though I should not utter a word, my presence 
would be of more comfort to him than any utterance ; he 
would know that I knew just what it was, and there would 
be a real sympathy — -fellow-feeling. 

Dear brother, the Lord in mercy comfort your deeply 
wounded spirit, build your waste places, light your candle, 
put a song in your mouth. I can only say, we are with you 
in your great sorrow, and we ask God to help you — and 
this is all we can do. Will you not ask God to help us 
and make the death and the new life of our little boy in 
heaven life to us as from the dead ? We need all this, or 
God would not have sent it. God grant that you and I 
and yours and mine in heaven may talk more intelligently 
of these matters! 

Your ever affectionate brother, S. A. Rhea. 

One other special preparation did Mr. Rhea need for the 
highest and purest life on earth and ripest fitness for heaven. 



320 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

He was to lie helpless in body and spirit, expecting to be 
borne in by the angels for Christ's sake, and then be lifted 
up by them and brought back to active life yet a season 
longer before translation. The wife proceeds : " Mr. Rhea's 
health, though very wretched before his most propitious 
visit to America, was so improved and re-established by 
that voyage and journey that it was even robust, and not 
often broken during our married life. Though in that time 
his burdens and labors were immense, he bore them man- 
fully. His enjoyment of life was evident. His trust in 
God was like a rock; his mind was almost habitually cheer- 
ful, kept in peace, because stayed on God. 

" I have not many memories of him as an invalid, yet I 
have a few. Several times he had attacks of low fever, 
which kept him for a longer or shorter period confined. A 
few weeks after Dr. Wright's death he was thus prostrated. 
I was very much alarmed — not so much at any existing 
symptoms as at the tendency to settled and obstinate fever. 

" I watched and tended him for six long weeks. It was 
a very tedious and exhausting sickness. He bore it pa- 
tiently and uncomplainingly. Often during the long and 
weary hours of the night he would lie sleepless and watch- 
ing, but restraining his restlessness and tossings lest I should 
be disturbed as I lay sleeping in snatches on a sofa near by. 

" After the fever began to yield, Mr. Rhea's recovery was 
still very slow ; but his convalescence was a delightful sea- 
son to me. Mr. Coan kindly took us out for a short ride 
on pleasant mornings, and fresh air proved a fine tonic. 
When we returned I would read aloud to him a great deal 
from the Bible and such authors as Leighton and Howe. 
His mind was in such a heavenly state, it seemed almost 
like being with one who had beheld the King in his beauty, 
and had freshly returned from the land that is very far off. 
He told me he had had many vivid and most solemn im- 



HOME INFLUENCES. 321 

pressions of the unseen world. God had come very near to 
him, and he had looked the king of terrors in the face. 
His feet had even reached the brink of the cold river, and 
he was ready to go over. Jesus was near, his presence real, 
his promises true, and his love most sweet and precious. 
' And now,' he said, ' I grieve to leave those blessed com- 
munings and that nearness to the Saviour and come back to 
the weary world and sin again, and wander away from Him 
whom my soul loveth. It was easier to go than to return.' 

"I said, tearfully, 'But, dear husband, how could you 
leave your wife and babes ? What would become of us ?' 
'I was not grieved for you,' he said; 'I left you with Christ 
and the covenant promises.' " 

"Many such words, solemn and heavenly, passed between 
us. I wish I could recall them all as he said them. It was 
comforting, later, to revive at least the impression I received 
from them of how a good man can die, passing serenely 
down the valley, leaning upon the arm of the Beloved, 
when, a few months afterward, he suddenly, and without 
warning or farewell, passed beyond the veil. This sickness 
was his death-warning. He received the call, 'Set your 
house in order, for you must die.' This was the messenger 
summoning the pilgrim from the land of Beulah to the 
presence of the King." 

Yet he rose up from that sickness strong and well again, 
with much to do and suffer in the few remaining months 
before he could quite say, " I have fought the fight, I have 
kept the faith, I have finished my course." 

We close this chapter on home influences with words thus 
accounted for: "Among the various gifts distributed to dif- 
ferent members of the little missionary circle keeping Christ- 
mas with us December 25, 1863, the following lines in a 
sealed, envelope came through the post-office, addressed to 
Mrs. Sarah Jane Rhea : 

V 



322 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

" And thinkest thou, my darling wife, 
My Muse is dead, and withered all 
The bloom and freshness of my love ? 
Have I no song for thee, whom God 
Selected and brought to my side. 
Enclosed thy hand, thy heart, thy life 
In mine ? Have I no song for thee, 
Who for my sake forsook thine all 
And sundered every tie, and gave 
To me a love than which there ne'er 
Was purer love nor love more true ? 
Thou'st cast a mantle over all 
My frailties, and seen in me naught 
But man complete — for perfect love. 
Thou'st given a love with which I know 
A spotless man would be content. 
No song for thee, whose heart has been 
Attuned to mine in harmony. 
Whose every throb has echoed back 
To mine sweetly, devotedly ? 
No song for thee ? When I look around 
On cherub faces and behold 
Our blended image penciled there — 
Lineaments of our united souls ? 
All song's not written. There's 
A melody of soul, and 
Sweeter than all the harmonies 
Of wire, or tone of well-tuned lute 
Or lyre, — our wedded life has been 
A constant song ! My heart has e'er 
Thrilled in fond music to thy praise, 
And found its sweetest rest in thee. 
No song for thee ! My Annie dear. 
My noble boy shall sing a song 
For thee ; and well I know 'twill wake 
Thy soul and make it bound away 
In ecstasy of joy. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

EVENING LABOES. 

OFTEN, as busy day draws near its close, work is so 
pressing that thought can scarcely turn to home, wait- 
ing with welcome, and the eye takes no respite to study 
clouds that will add to the glory of sunset. So it was with 
Mr. Rhea's five years of oriental evening following the year 
of noon-feast in America and the eight years' morning of 
his Eastern life. 

Already, in 1861, his journal becomes mere fragmentary 
hints for memory ; and in 1862, like an oriental brook, it 
dries up and disappears in the thirsty earth. 

Parts of the journal the American reader would readily 
understand, as : " Returned from Salmas, found little wife 
and baby well," " Quite fagged out," " Hormuzd fell from 
horse with Annie," " Deacon Tamo took supper with us." 
Other parts have marked Oriental flavors, as^ " Call from 
Meerza Assad Ullah" (Prince Lion of God), " Visit from 
Haji Khan's sons," " Persian letter with Latif Bey," " Call 
from Meerza Saduk," " To Dizza, Badilabad and Charbash," 
" With Sarah to Goolipatalikhan," " Turkish hymn," indi- 
cating a translation by him or original, is frequent ; and 
some translations are named as, " How sweet the name of 
Jesus !" " There is a fountain," etc., " Jesus, lover of my 
soul," He notes communion at villages, or funeral, and 
sometimes that he preached in Syriac, English or Turkish ; 
and several times " Read Persian newspapers" occurs, show- 
ing that no less than four Oriental languages, beside his 

323 



324 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

Hebrew and Greek of the Bible and his Latin and English, 
are attracting his most marked and successful attention. 
Gradually "Preached in Turkish" and "Kead Persian" grew 
frequent. Among the latter entries we read, " The governor 
put on his khalat to-day — how earnestly sought for, how 
prized ! Would that he would seek with equal earnestness 
the royal wedding-garment from the Great King." " Gave 
the sertib, Falootah Khan, a ride to Hyderloo." " Wrote 
to the governor and sent him a Persian Testament, with a 
mark on the passage relating to adultery." The following 
seem to be the last words of his journal : " Visited Sha- 
hany; talked with Oosta Babila about the contributions, 
schools, etc. ; arranged for a Bible-class every Tuesday 
evening. Evening called on Dr. Young — quite poorly. 
Spent the evening on accounts. Persian." 

That was December 14, 1862 ; and during the following 
three years he does not seem to have found time for a single 
entry. 

His correspondence with Dr. Perkins becomes mutilated 
scraps, in which names of Persian khans, nobles and princes 
alternate with those of American battle-fields ; and mention 
of Turkish and Syriac translations intertwines with allu- 
sions to village visits for Sabbath preaching, excursions to 
distant plains of Salmas and Tabreez or nearer mountains, 
and the care of Oriental printers and presswork in strange 
tongues. 

In the fragmentary notes to Dr. Perkins we read passages 
like this: "Hajee Meerza Megif Ali has seized old Mar 
Yoseph; he is now at Mar Yohanan." "How soon all 
things save eternity and its tremendous realities will seem 
utterly insignificant ! If a storm is brewing, we know God 
rides on the storm." 

From the springs near Salmas he writes : " Valley below 
reported full of armed men. Chavaders have not dared to 



EVENING LABOES. 325 

come. We keep a guard at night, but trust Him who neither 
slumbers nor sleeps." 

Another commences: "General Hassan Ali Khan got 
hold of the Pictorial History of the War, and was so 
pleased that he requested a number of the copies to send to 
the king of Persia," Another note charges that the gen- 
eral, who was fond of the pictorial war history, " clandest- 
inely, or at least very thoughtlessly, made away with three 
of Mr. Cochran's numbers." Strange hieroglyphics in 
another would be found only to be the Syriac chorus for 
the familiar "I do believe." The next note tells of 
Sanum's funeral, and how " last night," as death was near, 
she called in " friends, relatives and children, gave parting 
words, and while she had a voice to sing sang praises to 
Christ." 

January 11, 1864. — To-day I have had six cases of 
oppression, some involving much property and very flagrant. 
Each one had to be listened to, his case investigated and 
planned for. How weary one's soul grows of living in these 
lands of oppression and violence ! Clouds of mercy are gath- 
ering over our heads. Souls are crying out for eternal life. 

The following mingles the ludicrous with eccentric in a 
Persian noble: "Have just been to see the prince's gay 
rooms ; every variety of wall paper, intermixed with 
every variety of picture, papered on ; many from Lon- 
don Illustrated News; for vacant spaces he desires more; 
I am making up a package of good, bad and indifferent, 
and if you would immortalize yourself on the prince's walls 
he will be happy to receive any contributions." Note after 
note is devoted to printers, and many to the oppressor of the 
Nestorians. The following is a characteristic note : " I will 
very gladly send Priest Oshana a copy of the notes on the 
minor prophets. I wish very much we could see a deeper 
earnestness in the study of God's word. I deeply feel my 
38 



326 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

great deficiency in the little done to furnish notes and com- 
ments to stimulate to that study. In this study I believe 
both minister and layman are thoroughly furnished and 
made perfect. I cling to this Book all the more now that 
it is subjected to such an ordeal by the great infidel critics. 
Would that it dwelt in us all more richly ! I was thinking 
to-day, and with great sorrow, of the year gone by, in which 
so little time has been given to the prayerful study of God's 
word." 

Persian dignitaries were a great care and annoyance ; 
but God's servants often must stand before princes to plead 
for God's poor. " Haji Negif Ali," he writes to Dr. Per- 
kins, " said yesterday that the prince had appointed Friday 
for his visit. He told me that General Boyook Khan also 
would go. Your table is likely to be full. Have attended 
to the last sheet of the hymn-book. They will strike it oflT 
to-morrow." 

The following to Dr. P. is interesting : ""We shall have 
occasion of complaint if you persist in your hermit life. 
The days are long, the morning air balmy, the evening 
breezes refreshing. Can't you ride down oftener and spend 
a day or a few hours of a day. Dr. Bushnell says it is 
good to air our piety in the world's atmosphere : I can 
assure you we have it down here. (Dr. P. was at Seir, one 
thousand feet above Oroomiah city, six miles oflf.) I do 
not believe Dr. Bushnell would covet to breathe it long at 
a time. The great problem of my life is to keep in decent 
humor — to keep cool, unchafed, unfretted; but I succeed 
most miserably. In the process of collecting a pittance 
from a printer, I had to flee into an inner room to-day. 
Well, it ought to be more of a comedy than a tragedy ; I 
ought to laugh, scores of times, when I scold. 

" Nejif Ali, I hear, spoke openly in opposition to us and 
our work. What a comfort that we have a tireless Pro- 



EVENING LABOES. 327 

tector who is Meerza Nejif All's Master, and that lie can- 
not move a finger without his permission. How beautiful 
was the simplicity and childlikeness of Luther's faith in 
the midst of raging storms !" 

We again quote from Dr. Perkins : 

" There was something almost mysterious in the ardent 
attachment of Mr. Rhea to his friends and his devotion to 
their comfort and welfare. I dare not refer to his affection 
for his wife and children, farther than to say that it was a 
great deep, seldom ruffled on its surface and ever overflow- 
ing with an amplitude, sweetness and freshness which could 
not fail to make his home an earthly Eden. 

" For his associates and their families his affection was 
only less ardent than for ' the delight of his eyes' and his 
own lovely children. When Dr. Wright was taken from 
us by death, his grief was quite too great for suppression, 
and as he entered ' the house of mourning,' he could not re- 
frain from audible and almost convulsive weeping. I re- 
member, too, on another occasion, when he called on the 
writer to administer comfort in the depth of his affliction, 
his emotions in like manner were quite beyond his control. 

"To the widow and orphan children of an older mis- 
sionary associate, who were in deep want in America, after 
their return to that goodly inheritance, I happen to know 
that he twice remitted money from his private funds ; and 
for the infant son of his mountain associate, born several 
months after the devoted father died, he placed one hun- 
dred dollars in a savings'-bank, from the same private 
source. 

''My heart yearns and my hand trembles as I record 
these facts, before probably unrecorded except as business 
transactions, from the thoughts that are stirred within me 
in regard to these two classes of sufferers — missionary 
widows and children. And the touching exclamation of a 



328 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

little orphan boy, thus commiserated (who had known the 
pinchings of hunger within a few rods of Christian man- 
sions of affluence), when his elder brother enlisted to fight in 
the battles of his country, ' Willie, don't go ; if you do 
we shall certainly starve !' still rings in my ears, and will 
never cease to do so. Mr. Ehea had a heart to feel and a 
hand to relieve such sufferers. 

" Very much in harmony with the noble and beautiful 
character of Mr. Rhea was his fine person and manly and 
commanding, yet ever modest mien. Of medium height, a 
fair complexion, a genial, expressive face, a rich blue eye 
and a highly intellectual brow, there was a completeness 
in his whole appearance which we seldom behold in a 
mortal. 

" But I allude to his personal appearance especially to 
mark a single aspect of it which transcended all the rest in 
interest, viz. : the heavenly radiance that habitually, and 
sometimes almost supernaturally, lighted his countenance. 
This point is so well set forth in a letter from one* of his 
former associates, now in America, that I will quote a few 
lines in illustration of it : ' Did it ever occur to you how 
easy it is to realize Brother Rhea as in heaven ? There 
lingers in my recollection a sort of glow his face had at 
times, which I always associated with Moses' face when he 
came down from communion with God. The lustre in our 
dear brother's face had the same origin, I doubt not, difiering 
only in degree, and it is easy for me to think of his expres- 
sion as being merely intensified and perpetuated.' 

" The present families of our mission will certainly never 
forget his appearance and the impression he made at the 
last baptismal and communion service which we attended 
with him, just before he started for Tabreez. The celestial 
^ir his features wore, and the almost angelic strains in 
* Dr. Young. 



EVENING LABOES. 329 

which lie spoke and prayed, seemed to bear us up, not 
indeed to Sinai, but to the Mount of Transfiguration. 

"Such was our missionary brother, culminating in all 
that is noblest and purest that we ever witness in a human 
being." 

The following extract is from, I believe, his last letter to 
his beloved brother. Rev. Mr. Williams, of Mardin : " Have 
not the skies grown brighter across the water ? They cer- 
tainly seem so to me. They are certainly brighter for East 
Tennessee. I do not despair of the republic. I do not 
despair of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom all power in 
heaven and earth is given. His divine thoughts have made 
all this stir. He is alive. His words still vibrate through 
our air, his thoughts still thrill human souls, his soul still 
pervades God's embattled hosts. The fact is, dear brother, 
the materialism of this age had almost dethroned God. 
There was no sign, no voice, no miracle, and consequently 
there never had been one. ' On a journey,' ' turned aside,' 
or ' asleep !' When suddenly his throne of judgment is set — 
a great guilty nation is arrested and brought to his bar, 
and bolts of divine vengeance flame against her. For one, 
I am entirely satisfied with the administration of the Lord 
of the whole earth ; and with profoundest reverence I 
would bow to his will and say. Let it he done — come what 
may. Let it he done! I cannot understand many things 
about it, nor do I wish to, until he pleases to inform me. 

" Just now the Levant Herald reports defeat in East 
Tennessee, but I do not believe it. How hard for men 
abroad to get any idea of the physical or moral dimensions 
of our great war !" 

To a playful remark of a correspondent about the 
"wagon," "Oh you aristocratic folk ! Riding in carriages!" 
he replies : " Just think of it ! Poor Brother Abraham in 
South Africa trudging along in his ox-cart, at snail's pace, 

28* 



330 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

' whoa-hawing' till so hoarse he can't preach, belaboring 
tlie dumb brutes until he has exhausted strength and 
patience — to see himself in the Illustrated London News in 
a gilded coach drawn by shining steeds, with liveried foot- 
men, bounding over hill and dale, and all this with the 
money of the laboring poor ! 

" Sow kingly you do things up in Mardin ! Riding on 
beautiful white asses ! One so large, so strong, so comelyj 
so gentle, so nicely gaited as to take your w^hole family on 
his capacious back ; and not satisfied with such extrava- 
gance, a horse to boot — maybe a grand old Turcoman 
with his kingly tread, or the costly, blooded Arab with all 
his beauty and fleetness ! Oh, you aristocratic folk !" 

To Messrs. Coan and Shedd touring in the mountains of 
Koordistan, Mr. Rhea wrote : " Dear brethren, the glorious 
news of peace will make your heart beat high and strong. 
This Divine interposition in the affairs of our world will 
have to the Church and the nation all the force of a mira- 
cle. The war, its origin, prosecution, close and results, will 
form one of ^he most intensely thrilling chapters in the 
history of our race. God alone is great, and to him be all 
the glory. 

" We are having a breezy time. One day the Charbash 
church is closed and our people shut out ; another the straw 
rooms are rased to the ground by order of Nejif Ali, out 
of pure spite toward us ; another day the Begler Bey's 
servants come and stop the school — finally the Begler Bey 
sends to have the school assemble again. Nejif Ali con- 
sents to the use of the church, and seeing he has burnt his 
finger by tearing down the straw rooms, begins to draw in 
and becomes decidedly soft; but his villainy consists in this 
putting on the most friendly airs when he is stabbing the 
deepest." The reader will be rejoiced to know that through 
Mr. Rhea's able representations sent to the capital of Persia 



EVENING LABORS. 331 

this Haji Meerza Nejif Ali was deposed. Mr. Ehea must 
needs have interviews with other subtle Persians in higher 
position before the happy result. 

The following letter gives some account of Persian wiles 
met by the wisdom of one taught from above. Mr. Rhea 
had left his home on a long journey with his family for 
Tabreez, and this very full letter, which we can only give 
in part, seems to be the last letter but one which he ever 
wrote. It was addressed to his brethren jointly, dated near 
Salmas, at 

Saoora, August 8, 1865. 

Dear Brethren : We had a beautiful moonlight ride 
out to Uzarlu. Some of the leading men, whom I at once 
recognized, came to the tent in the evening as we were 
pitching it. They reminded me that I had taken thirty 
tomans ($60) from them. I exhorted them to forsake for 
the future all such costly enterprises as filching American 
travelers' bags. They retired, but on their way from the 
tent, to Mrs. Rhea especially, gave an illustration of Oriental 
inborn propensity to thieving, by making away with her 
American bridle. We left early. 

At Gavalan a passing remark tells the whole story of 
their spiritual interest. " We will attend preaching to- 
morrow—perhaps the sahib will interest himself in recover- 
ing our sheep." Yet several persons seem near the kingdom 
of heaven. 

Up at four — ofl' at six — going to Jemalava crossed track 
of a " salav." Old fruit trees remain standing several feet 
deep in sand and stone. That vineyard had flourished 
there scores of years, and yet in one night a salav came 
down and made a deposit which future geologists might say 
required several years. Old Nature has her freaks, which 
geology ought to provide for in its speculations. 

We rode ten hours, reached Saoora at six. Mrs, R, and 



332 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

I rode in advance and rested in the shade while the rest 
came up. Ate pears in Khosrova. We found Khoshaba 
and Elishwa under ban, prohibited from preaching, teach- 
ing or selling books. 

Old faces soon appeared, full of cordial welcome as ever. 
The nearest neighbor, a mukdoosy, (holy man because he 
has visited Jerusalem) seems decidedly evangelical — brings 
his family regularly to preaching and evening prayers. 
Last Saturday they had a hail-storm which did great dam- 
age to the melon gardens. On Monday I passed vines cut 
to pieces, literally riddled, scarcely a leaf appearing, while 
the ground was covered with unripe melons, lying out naked 
and forlorn-looking. A day or two before the storm, one 
hundred and fifty tomans (three hundred dollars) were re- 
fused for some of the gardens. After it, the owners left 
them, utterly ruined. Strong men wept like children, 
rushed out frantic before the pelting storm, bared their 
heads and rubbed their faces on the earth, imploring God 
to have mercy. After all was over, visits of condolence 
were made, as after the death of friends. 

I saw the Naib this morning. He soon introduced his 
" little book," with orders from headquarters. Spent some 
time looking over them to refresh his memory ; quietly put 
them in his box and asked, " What is your view ? I want 
to hear all your orders read ; if I can answer them to your 
satisfaction, well ; if not, wait a few days until I return from 
Tabreez." 

He said, " It is not worth while to read them ; the sub- 
stance is, first, American priests are not to reside in Salmas 
or open a printing-office." 

" I have not done either ; but only come as a guest, spend- 
ing a month or two." 

" Well, let that go." 

" No ; but why have you threatened to send Khoshaba 



EVENING LABOES. 333 

off (the native Christian helper) ? Is he prohibited ? He 
is not an American, but a Persian subject. Have you any 
order to drive him out ?" 

Quite perplexed, he evidently had none. " Well, we'll 
pass on. You must print no books except such as Mahmed 
Rooli Khan endorses." 

" His agent was in Oroomiah a year and a half and sanc- 
tioned the issues of our press ; but, pray, what has that to 
do with your prohibiting Khoshaba from selling books? 
and especially the Torat and Anjil? (law and gospel — Old 
and New Testament). Where is your order for that ?" 

Again silenced, he passed on. "You must not proselyte." 

" Prove that Khoshaba has proselyted any one." 

"Then what is his business here?" 

" Not to proselyte, but to instruct in the Scriptures and 
call men to repentance. What! do you say he is doing 
wrong to tell the Armenians their worship of images and of 
saints is contrary to the Anjil (gospel), and a sin ? Is this 
proselyting? Let them remain Armenians, but forsake 
their errors — what you yourself know to be errors." 

" Well, if he is not proselyting now, he intends to some 
time." 

" When he does, then arrest him, if it is a violation of 
law." 

" But the people don't want him here." 

"Some do. This you acknowledge when you say you 
broke up his school. If he had a school, he certainly had 
some friends." 

He wound up by saying, " It is not best to talk about this 
matter too much. We will arrange all this evening." 

It was evident he was troubled at having gone beyond 
his orders. 

Thursday morning. — The Naib called this morning. He 
wished to know what he should write to Tabreez ; " Shall 



334 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

I write that all the Armenians are opposed to Deacon 
Khoshaba?" 

" No. That would not be true ; you know he has friends." 

" Let them come and say they want him." 

" They have been threatened, and fear." 

He disclaimed ever having threatened them with fines 
and beating, which was untrue. I then said, " Give me a 
paper guaranteeing freedom from all molestation if they 
make such a statement, and the men are at the door 
ready to make it." He backed down, and soon took leave, 
saying he would write as he thought fit. He was made to 
understand that if he wrote falsely, all his intriguing for 
presents, the affair of the clock and transgression of orders, 
would be exposed. He was very civil, and evidently wished 
to avoid being complained of. He sent word by his servant 
to Khoshaba that if he would give him a watch he would 
write just as we wished. 

Called at the governor's in the old city. He said the 
papers with regard to the house were entirely satisfactory. 

The last letter he ever wrote was from Tabreez, August 
19, 1865. He speaks of hospitable entertainments and a 
dissipated week ; also of photographic rooms ; of a friend re- 
ligiously all afloat ; thinking " the Christian religion almost 
as much as any other involved in difficulties. How one 
longs to be able to speak a word in season! None but 
God's omnipotent spirit can reach such a case. We were 
at Mr. Nicholson's on Tuesday. Spent the night. A num- 
ber of Europeans were there to breakfast and spent the 
day. Everything done up in princely style. 

" The order came down from Teheran (the Persian cap- 
ital) that Nejif All's case should be investigated by a coun- 
cil in Tabreez. Nejif Ali begs off", requests to go to 
Oroomiah and have his case investigated there ! Of course 



EVENING LABOKS. 336 

he knows no Nestorian there will dare to testify against 
him.* 

" Monday morning. — We had an interesting day yesterday. 
About thirty were present at our services, nearly all Ar- 
menians. We had baptism of Eshoo's child and sermon 
and communion. All the services were in Turkish. Of 
course there is much to say about our missionary work here, 
for which there is not time at present. On the whole, there 
is ground for encouragement. 

" We hope to get through our visit here this week, and early 
next week set out on our return. Still we do not wish to 
leave until we get our matters in a satisfactory state, if pos- 
sible. The children's eyes are sore. Foster in a bad state. 
Our quarters, too, are not very comfortable for a family of 
little children, and we should like to leave as soon as we 
can. With much love to all our circle, I am, as ever, yours, 
very sincerely." 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

AL,I SHAH. 

THE village in Persia named Ali Shah, after Ali the 
murdered son-in-law of Mohammed, the fourth caliph, 
who is annually mourned in Persia, has a special claim 
upon our remembrance. 

In the great Persian cities, during ten days of the Sacred 
Month, the whole population give themselves up to lamenta- 
tions for their slaughtered imaums, Ali and his two sons, 
Hooseyn and Hassan. Men robe themselves in black and 
tear open their garments. Assembled at mosques and 
courts of great men, most eloquent mollahs harangue, and 
on high platforms actors represent the tragic scene. Once 
Mr. Rhea wrote : " To-day, as plaintive tones rehearsed the 
mournful events, the whole vast multitude of several thou- 
sands, with their princes and governor, and military men 
and high nobles, and men of all ranks, broke forth in the 
most violent fits of weeping and sobbing and smiting their 
breasts. When shall this wonderfully emotional nature of 
the Persians pay its homage, thrilled with the fact of a 
crucified Saviour, at the cross ?" 

We turn in explanation of our interest in Ali Shah to 
the sad letter of Mrs. Rhea, conveying to her own mother 
the story of her journey to and from Tabreez : 

Seir, Persia, September 11, 1865. 
I wrote about two months ago, mentioning our antici- 
pated visit to Tabreez. We started August 4, looking for 
336 



ALI SHAH. 339 

enly sunshine and blessing, but tbe Lord bad other things 
in store. 

All the journey I made by the side of my dear husband, 
enjoying the most delightful conversation, and receiving, in 
his most tender care and love of me, proofs of an affection 
Avhich has rendered my life like the unfolding of a rose 
gladdened by incessant sunshine. 

Our horses carried us rapidly in advance of the party, 
which consisted of four loads, two muleteers, two Nestorian 
servants and our two children, riding in their baskets. It 
was our plan to ride on rapidly and then stop a little while 
to rest under some shade or near some stream until the 
loads came up. In this way, the whole journey was accom- 
plished without fatigue. 

We left home on Friday afternoon, arrived in Gavalan 
Saturday, about noon, where we spent the Sabbath and 
commemorated the Lord's Supper with the little church, 
and Mr. Rhea baptized the infant daughter of the priest, 
our Nestorian helper. The preparatory meetings held, one 
on Saturday evening, the other on Sabbath morning, with the 
members of the church, I shall never forget. Mr, Rhea's 
counsels were so heavenly, his manner so impressive, his 
words so solemn, so tender, so appropriate. Two young 
men, communicants, had been quarreling, and had raised 
their hands to strike, and been parted by some worldly 
spectators. How tender, how sorrowful his reproofs ! say- 
ing only a few earnest, telling words, and leaving the appli- 
cation and condemnation to themselves. They were not 
slow to make it. They seemed broken down and humbled 
to the dust. After the communion the collection of the 
monthly concert was taken up, and established as a future 
rule of the little church by the affirmative vote of every 
member. The village of Gavalan has been in Mr. Rhea's 
care for several years, and he has felt the deepest interest 



340 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

in its spiritual welfare. On leaving it this time, he pro- 
mised the helper there that, as he returned, he would stop 
several days for the purpose of evangelical labors. 

After dinner on the Sabbath, though weary and needing 
rest, he walked over to Jemalava, a Nestorian village, one 
or two miles distant, and preached again. 

Monday, we arrived at Sawoora, an Armenian village on 
the Salmas plain, where we have a Nestorian helper. Mr. 
Rhea enjoyed conversation and religious exercises here with 
all who came, and called upon the head man of the village 
and the governor of the province with reference to securing 
a more satisfactory recognition of our helper's residence 
and labors in Sawoora. He obtained a respectful hearing, 
and a promise that the helper should be unmolested. 
Thursday, we went to Pigajuk, where we met two girls, 
former pupils of the seminary, now married to Armenian 
merchants. We spent an hour in friendly and religious 
conversation, tea-drinking, etc., and then, after an evening 
ride, arrived at Yanshouly, where our tent had been pitched 
for us in advance, and where we found a carrier with our 
American mail. 

Two more days brought us to Dizza Khalib, where we 
pitched our tent in a quiet garden for the Sabbath. How 
sweet the memories of that Sabbath ! Several hours of 
the forenoon were spent in reading the Bible, religious con- 
versation and prayer in the Turkish language with an 
Armenian whom we picked up on the way, with our Mus- 
sulman host and our servants. In the afternoon we had 
another long and deeply spiritual meeting with our own 
servants, reading several chapters in the Bible, with remarks 
and explanations, Mr. Rhea praying himself and calling 
upon each of them to pray. 

We arrived in Tabreez August 15, Monday, and stopped 
at the house of Eshoo, our Nestorian bookseller and deacon. 



ALI SHAH. 341 

For a week we were all well — Mr. Rhea full of business of 
every kind. We visited the European families, the bazaars, 
Eshoo's Bible depository, several Armenian preachers, the 
ancient Armenian church, graveyard and school. Mr. 
Rhea also had several earnest conversations with the Eng- 
lish consul about the affairs of the Nestorians, etc., and 
made an official call upon the vizier, whom he saw alone 
by particular favor and talked with a great while, disabus- 
ing him of a score of slanderous and injurious reports about 
the work of the American missionaries in Persia, who, he 
assured the vizier, had no political designs, either present or 
future, but whose only business was to teach the precepts 
of the Old and New Testaments and the worship of one 
living and true God. 

The vizier made himself extremely polite and accessible, 
and Mr. Rhea described his interview as entirely gratifying 
and satisfactory. On the first Sabbath after our arrival 
Mr. Rhea conducted the services of the communion, bap- 
tism of Deacon Eshoo's child, and preaching in Turkish 
before an audience of thirty-five persons, who listened with 
breathless attention and beaming eyes. The Spirit of the 
living God was in the midst, and the interest attending the 
services was something not of earth, but imparted from on 
high. It was so felt and recognized at the time, and sol- 
emnly remembered afterward. The same evening, in Dea- 
con Eshoo's house, w^e had another solemn meeting; the 
subject was Eternity, on which the missionary's mind had 
been greatly absorbed for several weeks. His words were 
worthy of the theme. 

In a few days afterward he was taken sick, and Annie 
also in a similar manner. They seemed to have taken cold 
in some fierce gale from the Caspian, such as is common there. 
They were both confined for a week with fever, but not 
alarmingly. I administered some simple medicines at first, 

29 « ' 



342 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

and afterward called in Dr. Yurist, a German. He came 
three times, prescribed large doses of quinine, and said that 
they would soon be well. He then bade us good-bye, as 
he was going to a distant village, and supposed that we 
should be in Oroomiah before he returned. Mr, Rhea grew 
better, walked over to the grounds of the consulate, and 
Thursday morning, August 31, rode half an hour out of 
town to call on the English consul. 

We thought the air of Tabreez bad for us. Our confined 
quarters were certainly unwholesome, and, as we longed to 
get home, we planned to get out at once on our return jour- 
ney, making it slowly. and by the shortest possible stages. 
We started from Tabreez, Mr. Rhea on horseback. Once 
out of the close, dusty city, we encountered a refreshing 
breeze, which we both enjoyed. 

We rode along rapidly and very comfortably to My an, 
two hours from Tabreez, where we stopped in a caravansera. 
We gave our horses to a man in the stable-yard and went 
up stairs to a little upper room, where I persuaded Mr. R. 
to lie down on my shawl and rest. 

By and by the loads came up, and after a cup of tea and 
bread we retired, but not to rest. Mr. Rhea was seized sud- 
denly with the most excruciating pains in the abdomen. 
They came on in almost incessant paroxysms, so violent as 
to force the perspiration from every pore, drenching his 
clothes, and extorting groans expressive of intolerable ag- 
ony. He obtained no rest, not even for a moment, through 
the night. Three times he was obliged to get up, and 
seemed so deathly sick with purging and vomiting that a 
horrible thought came to ray mind — Can this be cholera f 

During the night he would often lift up his soul in gentle 
tones to God in prayer for help, for relief, for submission. 
I listened in agony to hear if he should ask relief in death ; 
but he never did. He prayed as if he was leaning on the 



ALI SHAH. 343 

bosom of Jesus ; and, assured of sympathy and love, was 
telling him all about it and committing his case to the 
great and good Physician. Once he said, with great earn- 
estness, " Oh how sweet, how sweet the rest of heaven will 
be after all these afflictions !" Again he said, " The hand 
of the Lord is very heavy upon me." " Perhaps we never 
realize how heavy it is more than in personal affliction and 
strong pain." He had a long, sweet sleep in the forenoon, 
when I kept the flies off him and Annie. Our room was 
such an open place, and the Caspian breeze so fierce, and 
his perspiration so copious, that I did not venture to use 
any such remedies as baths or hot applications. 

On Saturday morning I wished to send to Tabreez for a 
takhterawan (a chair borne by horses) and to return thither. 
But he did not consent, preferring rather to go on to Ali 
Shah, the next village, four hours distant toward Oroomiah. 
We had heard that we could find a comfortable room to 
rest in there for the Sabbath, good water to drink, and a 
takhterawan for our journey. The water of Myan was bit- 
ter, and no one but the inhabitants of the wretched place 
could drink it. We had brought a little water in a jug, but 
it lasted only till noon of Saturday. 

Of his own accord Mr. Rhea told the servants to get out 
the horses, and we would try to go on to the next village. 
He made himself ready, and we started oflfnear five o'clock 
Saturday afternoon. I little realized how ill he was, though, 
as we were mounting our horses, I noticed how pale and 
feeble he looked, and told him that he had changed in 
a night and a day. He did not seem to have the least 
apprehension of anything fatal in such a pain, nor did I. 
Daniel walked by the side of his horse, holding the bridle 
and rendering any little assistance he might ask. Mr. Rhea 
sat in the saddle, holding his umbrella till the sun grew low. 

About half an hour from Myan we stopped to rest. He 



344 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

said, smilingly, " Is it not too soon/ to rest ?" We only 
stopped a few minutes, and Daniel and Guergis helped 
him on again. 

Then we rode on and on, I watching him all the time, 
fearing and feeling that he was suffering, though unable to 
detect it by the expression of his patient features. 

Not far from Myan I said, " Would you not like to re- 
turn ?" He shook his head a little and said, " I scarcely 
know what I want." Riding on, after another interval I 
said, " Have you any comfort?" He said, " Not much." 

Occasionally I gave him a little wine to wet his lips. I 
seldom spoke, not wishing to tire him. After a while I 
said, "You do not ask to stop: would you not like to rest?" 
He replied, " The wear and tear of getting off and on is 
more than the good. There is no place here to lie down." 
It was a dreary place — an unmitigated desert. But I in- 
sisted on stopping a little ; and Daniel helped him down, 
while I jumped off my horse, spread the shawl and received 
his dear head in my arms, sitting down by the side of the 
road. 

He was very tired ; panting, and breathing with difficulty ; 
trembling, shaking and perspiring. His enunciation seemed 
a little difficult on account of the panting. I gave him a 
little wine and bathed his face with camphor. He did not 
lie quite still, seeming to be uncomfortable. I begged him 
to try to rest a little, and prayed little sentences of entreaty 
that God would comfort him and relieve his pain, and take 
us safely to the village. 

By this time the muleteers, with the loads, had come up, 
and the chavadar called out in a commanding tone, " Why 
do you linger here ? There is danger. Let us be going ; 
the village is very near ; rest there." 

Mr. Rhea was on his feet before he had finished, and said, 
" Let us go." He went to his horse, taking the bridle from 



ALI SHAH. 345 

Guergis' hand as if to mount. At the same time he told 
Guergis to ask the chavadar how far it was to the 
village. 

Guergis looked in his face and burst into tears ! 

Mr. Rhea looked at him steadily, as if he did not under- 
stand his emotion. I told our Nestorian men, Daniel and 
Guergis, they must put the bedding on one of the loaded 
horses, arrange it as comfortably as possible for Mr. Ehea, 
and then place him upon it and hold him on. They did so, 
both walking by him. 

I rode as near as possible to him, listening and leading 
his now empty horse. 

Sometimes, as one side would be heavier or lighter, he 
would be called upon to move a little, which he did 
promptly and with an appearance of strength. 

The motion of the horse extorted frequent though gentle 
groans of pain. He was very thirsty, and both the chil- 
dren were crying for water. Water there was none. At a 
previous brook he had tried to drink, but spit out the bitter 
■water in disgust. The wine was better than nothing, but 
unsatisfactory. 

At length the moon rose. The children now grew quiet. 
Daniel passed a rope around his back and over his shoul- 
ders, to keep him from shaking about on the horse ; and, 
taking off his hat, protected his head with a flannel. He 
grew quiet, and I said, "He sleeps." So we rode on and on 
in the still night, no sounds except from the horses' feet or 
an occasional word about the precious load. Will the vil- 
lage never appear? They said it was very near. Oh, how 
long the way seemed ! 

My mind was very active, picturing that comfortable 
room where we should rest at Ali Shah; the refreshing 
water, the quiet rest, the soft bed for the dear invalid, the 
quick cup of tea, his sweet words, our subsequent journey 



346 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

home in the takhterawan, our safe arrival there. All this 
time my eyes were on him and my ears strained to catch a 
sound. How long he sleeps ! How still he is ! 

And then I prayed to God ! No one understood the lan- 
guage except the Hearer of prayer. I plead every promise 
and every ground of hope, and entreated with all my heart 
and soul that God would have mercy, help and comfort us, 
and restore my dear one to health. I was comforted. The 
fear of a dread calamity passed away. My mind was calm, 
and so strong to take care of him. 

We hired a countryman passing along the roaxl, so 
that three men were all the time engaged in making his 
position comfortable ; and the two chavadars also rend- 
ered assistance when any adjustment or change was called 
for. 

At length the weary, weary road was all passed. We 
reached the village, and stopped at a house where they said 
we could find a room. Daniel and I ran in to see it first, 
opened the windows and spread down the shawl and pillows 
where he could rest; then went back to the gate, and I 
charged the men not to let him exert himself at all, but to 
take him down like a little child and carry him carefully in. 
I ran forward then and got in through the window, which 
was low, opened my satchel and got out the wine and cam- 
phor, and spreading a pillow on my lap, received him in 
my arms. 

Just as they deposited him in my arms he drew one Ibng, 
deep sigh. I wet his lips, bathed his face, spoke to him, called 
his name, raised him up, kissed him and entreated him to 
speak. I chafed his soft, warm hands, felt his heart, felt 
his pulse, his temples, his neck, seeking everywhere for 
signs of life. In vain. He was dead ! 

But I did not believe it. I assured Daniel that he was 
not dead. It was impossible, without a look, a word, a 



ALI SHAH. 347 

sign ! I knew it was not so, and begged him to say so too ! 
Tears were ray only answer. 

I shed no tears for hours. I knew some dreadful thing 
had happened, some awful dream ; but he was not quite 
dead yet. He would open his eyes, move or speak, or smile, 
and I would assure him of my undying love and kiss him 
good-bye and give him up to God. I was stunned. I was 
confused. It was / who was dead. My God had killed 
me with a sudden thunderbolt! 

Daniel brought paper and ink, and said I must write two 
letters, and told me what to say. I obeyed mechanically. 
I wrote to the English consul in Tabreez, begging him to 
send me a coffin, ice, horses and men as speedily as possible. 
Then I wrote to the missionaries at Oroomiah, begging one 
of them to come and meet us and help us home. 

I will not speak of that night as I watched at the door 
of my dead. The next day was the Sabbath ; but not of 
rest to me. If he had died, I said, I might have borne 
it, for all must die; but to die ihiis! Such a death was 
agony. 

At length the Divine Comforter directed my thoughts to 
the agonizing death of Jesus Christ. He had no comfort- 
able room, no soft bed, no downy pillow, no sympathizing 
friend, no relieving hand near to administer any alleviation. 
He even begged for water to quench his dying fevei', and 
they gave him vinegar to drink. That was too much for 
my stony heart; it melted and flowed down. I yielded 
myself to Him who gave his only and well-beloved Son so 
to die. I could not reproach God for the manner of my 
husband's cruel death when I saw how Jesus Christ had 
died. 

I began to look for the coffin soon after noon of the Sab- 
bath, desiring to hasten the precious remains to their resting- 



348 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

place at Seir. The coffin did not come, and I waited on in 
an agony of suspense till Monday noon. 

The body was then closely enveloped in a white sheet 
and India-rubber blanket, and placed in the coffin, sur- 
rounded by charcoal. The coffin was nailed up and sewed 
into a woolen matting, and bound firmly to the pack-saddle. 

I hoped to send it on rapidly, and follow as fast as we 
could. Mr. Abbott wrote to me very kindly, and advised 
me to return at once to Tabreez, and bury in the Armenian 
graveyard outside the city. But I very earnestly desired 
to lay the remains of my beloved husband among the people 
for whom he had spent his life. 

The first day we only traveled two hours, resting till after 
dark. This was the less distressing to me because Annie 
was very sick, and I should have feared for her tender life, 
traveling in the hot sun. We rode all night, the children 
in their baskets. Deacon Eshoo, from Tabreez, rode near 
me on one side; Daniel, with the baskets, on the other. 
Some distance ahead, accompanied by the faithful Nesto- 
rian Guergis and a chavadar, moved the coffin, on which 
my eyes were ever fixed. 

At dawn we stopped at a village. I supposed the coffin 
would go on ; but the chavadar said his horse was tired, 
and it was impossible to induce him to move. The weather 
was intensely hot. 

At dark we started again on our funereal way. I found 
the chavadars had turned aside from the lake road and 
had taken a much longer route by the mountains. It made 
me feel very sad. The wind blew very fiercely. We passed 
several caravans of camels encamping. 

This night passed like the first. What a road we went 
over — so desolate, so drear ! I had never seen anything so 
desert, and could hardly believe I was passing the same 
localities we had enjoyed so much three weeks before. 



ALI SHAH. 349 

Wednesday morning at dawn we arrived at Yanshally. 
We did not wish to stop till an hour later, but the chava- 
dars with great rudeness cast down the loads in the mid- 
dle of the village in the street ; so we threw ourselves on 
the ground exhausted, and took a little sleep. From Yan- 
shally the precious remains had been brought on my own 
horse, which carried them the rest of the way. I earnestly 
begged the chavadars to let me go on with the coffin to 
Gavalan, promising them reward and rest there, but they 
were cruelly deaf to all entreaty. Eshoo and Guergis hired 
a man and took one of the chavadars, his horse and mine, 
and pressed on to Gavalan, while I was forced to remain in 
Cucurrau with Daniel and the children till the next day. 

At the watch-house on the mountain we were rudely 
assaulted by the soldiers, but were suflfered to pass without 
actual violence. 

Near Gavalan we met Mr. Coan, who took care of us 
with gentle kindness, speaking words of sympathy and com- 
fort that were like sweet cordial to a heart overstrained and 
bursting. At the bridge, Mr. Labaree met us with the car- 
riage, and Dr. Perkins and several kind Nestorians. We 
learned that the coffin had arrived early Thursday morning 
at Seir, and had been buried in a loving, Christian manner 
before noon. 

When I went up to see the sacred spot, at sunset of Sat- 
urday, I had no words to express my sweet sense of gratifi- 
cation and appreciation. The mound was beautifully and 
symmetrically shaped, and sodded with green grass freshly 
sprinkled, and marked with a stone at the head and foot. 
It was beautiful and peaceful. God remember Dr. Perkins 
for the comfort of that sight ! 
30 



CHAPTER XXV. 

CLOSING SCENES. 

ABOUT twenty-four hours after the first stunning intel- 
ligence was received, says Dr. Perkins, the corpse 
reached Mount Seir, borne in solemn stillness upon a horse. 
Brief funeral services were soon held by a company of sin- 
cere weepers, and the loved form was affectionately com- 
mitted to the grave. 

Never was sorrow more deep and general among the 
sympathizing Nestorians than when the sad tidings went 
rapidly abroad ; for no other man was ever more univer- 
sally beloved by the entire people. Very many among the 
Mohammedans also deeply lamented his death. 

At eleven A. M. all that was mortal of that man of 
God so greatly beloved, reached the spot which his active 
feet had so often trod, beautiful upon the mountains as 
bringing good tidings; where his eloquent tongue, which 
had not inappropriately won for him the title of Chrysostom 
among the Nestorians, so often proclaimed to them the 
message of salvation. Devout men, among them several 
of his own faithful Nestorian helpers, were awaiting the sad 
solemnities, who, with their own hands, gladly prepared his 
hallowed resting-place, and then buried him, making over 
him heartfelt lamentation. 

The time and manner of his summons, so mysterious, 
unexpected, so trying and crushing, were chosen of God in 
wisdom and love as those by which this beloved disciple 
could most effectually glorify God in his death, as he had 

350 



CLOSING SCENES. 351 

SO long and so effectually done in his life. He had just left 
a heavenly savor at Tabreez, as in circumstances quite 
analogous did the sainted Henry Martyn a little before his 
death, when he had toiled but half as many years in the 
missionary field. Mr. Rhea had in like manner borne his 
last testimony for Christ in that dark city, seldom blessed 
with the presence of a missionary. And there he had put 
forth his last exertions with the Mohammedan authorities 
for our welfare and that of the suffering Nestorians. 

It is the lot of few mortals to meet so trying an ordeal 
as that through which Mrs. Rhea was called to pass. The 
overwhelming shock of that sudden exit on the road, among 
strangers, in a dark land ; the necessary preparations for 
bringing the precious remains over the long and wearisome 
journey of more than a hundred miles, the widow following 
them in a lonely caravan under a burning Persian sun, 
with her tender orphans on her hands, one of them sick, 
and the only earthly comforters near her the sympathizing 
Nestorian attendants. Oh, this was a trial too severe for 
flesh and blood to bear, save as grace, abounding grace, sus- 
tained her. She reached Mount Seir the day following the 
interment of the remains of her husband. 

A massive block of snow-white gypsum, neatly polished, 
was soon placed over Mr. Rhea's grave by his widow, bear- 
ing the following inscriptions : 

•'Rev. Samuel Audley Rhea, 

Missionary to the Nestorians ; 

Born January 23, 1827 ; died September 2, 1865, 

PreBent with the Lord," 

On the reverse side the name, office and dates are the 
same, in modern Syriac, with the Scripture — - 
"He was not, for God took hira." 



352 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

Persian roses and blue violets are planted round the stone, 
and fill the air with fragrance. 

His grave is often visited by loving and grateful Nes- 
torians, as are others in that hallowed cemetery, to drop a 
tear of afiectionate remembrance. 

The same power of sustaining grace which supported the 
crushed widow under the first shock of her overwhelming 
bereavment, has wonderfully borne her up since she was led 
into the deep waters, comforting her in her sorrows, strength- 
ening her in her arduous duties in the care of her three or- 
phan children and her abundant labors in the Female Sem- 
inary, carrying her through scenes of sore trial and suffering, 
and shedding around her an atmosphere savoring so much 
of heaven that she has been to our mission, to our work and 
to the Nestorian people an angel of consolation, encourage- 
ment and hope, such as the furnace of affliction alone could 
give to us and to the cause of Christ on earth. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

HIS CHARACTER. 

E append, from the many tributes to the memory of 
Mr. Rhea, a few fragments illustrative of different 
traits of his character. In them we find not merely reasons 
for placing him among the eminent of God's children, but 
suggestions for growth in the graces of a true Christian life 
on the part of others. 

The venerable late Foreign Secretary of the American 
Board, Dr. Anderson, wrote to the afflicted widow : " I know 
not that I ever felt so painfully despondent as I did on Satur- 
day last, after reading your own most touching narrative to 
your mother, which came to me unsealed from Constanti- 
nople, but which I remailed the same day. Unfitted for 
work, I went home ; but as I was ascending the hill to my 
house I said, Jesus, thou art infinite in wisdom, and there- 
fore I believe that there is mercy in this event — that it is all 
merciful ; and then a ray of light broke into my darkness. 
The blow was from our heavenly Father's hand. This we 
believe ; the Lord help our unbelief" 

WALKING WITH GOD. 

Rev. Mr. Cobb having been forced to return to this coun- 
try, thus mentions his impressions of Mr. Rhea: "I do not 
think the manner of his death mattered much to him. • For 
he seemed to me, more than any man I ever knew, to have 
his conversation in heaven, and to be ready at any moment 
for translation thither. I can never forget through life, 

30 * X 353 



354 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA 

and perhaps not through eternity, his constant longing after 
greater purity of heart and conformity to Christ, nor the 
oft-repeated expression of his conviction that perfect love 
and perfect conformity ought to be attained. I do think 
that in him, more than in any one I ever knew, was ex- 
emplified my ideal of walking with God ; and I shall ever 
feel that some of the strongest impulses I have ever re- 
ceived in the divine life have been throvigh him. His noble 
countenance and earnest words are almost as vividly pres- 
ent to me now as when I saw him in some of our little gath- 
erings in Oroomiah, and heard him breathe out the aspi- 
rations of his soul after God and Christ and holiness." 

HIS LOVE OF COUNTRY AND OF LIBERTY. 

From the Rev. Mr. Shedd, of the mission to the moun- 
tain Nestorians : 

Some of the finest traits of Mr. Rhea's character came 
out in connection with the civil war in America. The deep 
personal love he bore to those near and dear to him in the 
Southern armies gave a tenderness and solemnity to all his 
words, and showed his adherence to the national cause to be 
the result of self-sacrifice as really as his love of Christ. 
His sympathy with the masses of the Southern people and 
his admiration for their bravery, his sense of the magnitude 
of the struggle, his grasp of the principles involved, and 
his faith in the triumph of the government and the ulti- 
mate overthrow of the oligarchy of the South were remark- 
ably strong and clear. The Fourth of July, 1865, the last 
before his death, was celebrated by our mission circle, and 
all present well remember how much he contributed to the 
interest of the occasion. His gratitude that the war was 
really over, and the right had gained the day, was poured 
out in thanksgiving. Especially we remember the tender, 
enthusiastic admiration with which he spoke of our fallen 



HIS CHAEACTER. 355 

President, and the still deeper emotion with which he re- 
sponded to the sentiment, " The loyal men of the South," 
He was excelled by few men in the beauty and eloquence 
of his addresses on such occasions, and his love of country 
was a sacred duty, second only to his love of God. 

DR. PERKINS. 

Of Mr. Rhea's love of country. Dr. Perkins says : " We 
should not do justice to the memory of Mr. Rhea were we 
not to allude to the depth and ardor of his patriotism. 
This was very conspicuous during the fearful war in Ame- 
rica. He was from beginning to end a thorough-going 
Union man. Though a native of Tennessee, and though 
he loved the State of his birth with a devotion second to 
that of no other citizen, and though some of his dearest 
friends were drawn into the ranks of Secession, his attach- 
ment to the Union never wavered. And in the darkest 
periods of the war he was firm in the hope and belief of the 
ultimate success of the government ; perhaps more so than 
any other member of our mission, and his joy in the final 
triumph of our arms amounted wellnigh to ecstasy. 

" While we are bound to make this honest and honorable 
record, we should also state that, sore as was the trial and 
deep his grief in difiering from his friends who were arrayed 
on the opposite side in the appalling conflict, he ever cher- 
ished the kindest feelings toward them, never applying to 
them a reproachful epithet nor impugning their motives, 
but regarding them as sadly mistaken on a momentous sub- 
ject. And as such he could earnestly remonstrate with 
them and pray for them. But in regard to the plotters and 
leaders of the great rebellion, he could and did at the same 
time pray for their overthrow as heartily as ever the Psalmist 
prayed for the discomfiture of ' the enemies of the Lord 
and of David.' 



356 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

"His full sympathy with the measures of President 
Lincoln, at the time, for the overthrow of slavery might 
seem strange were it not known that he had long been 
from principle a decided anti-slavery man. Perfectly free 
from the slightest tinge of that vituperative spirit that 
has animated too many earnest abolitionists, he was not 
a whit behind them in his deep sense of the evils of the 
'stupendous wrong' of American slavery, or in his long- 
ing desire for its complete removal. I have never found a 
stronger sympathy on this subject in any missionary in 
Asia, and far less in some. Soon after he reached our field 
he incidentally mentioned to me the fact that his father had 
long before liberated his slaves, that they might join the 
colony in Liberia ; ' and on that day,' said the young mis- 
sionary, ' my father took me to the stables and said to me, 
Sam, now you must take care of the horses.' This, of 
course, was the key that explained the whole subject of 
his interest in the freedom and welfare of the colored 
race. 

" Mr. Rhea's views, well known to his brethren, seem now 
prophetic. In January, 1857, he wrote to his friend at 
Mosul: 'An all-wise, just and merciful God has permitted 
for the present the triumph of slavery. I delight to submit 
to his disposition of the matter without one murmur. He 
knows the wrongs of slavery. The blood shed in Kansas, 
I believe, is but the beginning of blood-shedding in con- 
nection with the accursed system. I have no idea that the 
exodus of three millions of slaves out of the house of their 
bondage can be effected without bloodshed. I know not 
what form it will take, but I believe it will come in terrible 
judgment on the heads of slaveholders. Were the majority 
of slaveholders, or any large proportion of them, Christian 
men, I should have hope that one day there would be a 
peaceable solution of this dark problem ; but they are not. 



HIS CHARACTEE. 357 

The great majority, like hundreds and thousands at the 
North, love the ease and emoluments of slavery.' " 

FROM THE MOUNTAIN POST. 

From Gawar, Koordistan, the Kev. J. H, Shedd writes 
the following glowing tribute : " My acquaintance with Mr. 
Rhea began in New York city the morning myself and wife 
embarked for Persia, In the few hours of that bustling 
morning he quite won our hearts by his brotherly assistance 
and kindness. He left our side at the very last moment, 
and his farewell grasp was our final adieu to our native 
land. Fourteen months later, on the open plain of Oroo- 
miah, in a drenching autumnal rain, I grasped his hand 
again. With others of our circle I had ridden out several 
miles to welcome him and his associates to Persia. The 
next five years we were often associated in missionary coun- 
sels and labors, and in social and religious intercourse. 
The final grasp of his fraternal hand was in July, 1865. 
The night previous we had spent in adjoining tents in 
Anbar, a village on the border of the plain- of Oroomiah. 
In the morning we were to separate, myself and wife to re- 
sume our journey, and he and his family to remain for mis- 
sionary labor in the village. He was looking toward Ta- 
breez and we toward Koordistan for our summer labors. 
After united family prayers we started mountainward, and 
for an hour he accompanied us on our way. That hour's 
ride now rises before me. His countenance and dress, his 
words and gestures, his kind adieus and advice to the 
natives of our company, and his final farewell, all have the 
distinctness of a picture. We had talked much during the 
morning of our work and of vital missionary themes, and 
his last words related to our annual meeting, to be held 
after our summer's journeys and labors were over. In a 
mountain valley we parted, my own heart softened and 



358 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

strengthened by the conversations of the morning and by 
his tender adieu. Such partings on missionary ground have 
the conscious uncertainty that perhaps our next meeting will 
be in heaven. 

" Before the summer's work was done, or the time for that 
annual meeting came round, he was there. The news of his 
passage to the skies reached us in Memikan, his home for the 
first years of missionary life. My wife and several of the 
village-women had just been to the graveyard upon the hill, 
where rest the remains of Mr. Crane and Mr. Rhea's first 
wife, ' Martha,' as the mountaineers affectionately call her. 
As they returned, conversing of the departed, a messenger 
from Oroomiah came up. A company of the villagers 
gathered round, little thinking of the heavy tidings they 
were to hear. When the sudden announcement was made, 
' Mr. Rhea is dead,' the silent tears of some and the audible 
grief of others paid, as no words could, their tribute to his 
memory. All we could do to comfort them was to repeat 
the record of Enoch, ' He walked with God and he was not, 
for God took him.' 

"The next day was communion Sabbath, and the oc- 
casion was especially solemn and hallowed to us all, as one 
and another spoke of him who had labored so abundantly 
for their souls, and so earnestly and beautifully pointed 
them to the cross of Christ. Those villagers never can for- 
get how holily and justly and unblamably he and his wife 
behaved themselves among them. Those who are yet young 
people can tell how kindness and gentleness won their child- 
ish hearts; and those of maturer years verily believe there 
never was a man so learned and wise, so full of mercy and 
piety, as their own beloved missionary. 

"As his successor in the mountain-field, I have heard 
many unaffected tributes to his character and life, and es- 
pecially to his self-denial and love of souls. Many of our 



HIS CHARACTER. 359 

mountain preachers were first taught by him, and they 
never dwell upon his memory without deep emotion and en- 
thusiasm. In traveling in his footsteps I have often been 
struck with the interest and admiration for his character 
with which men have asked for that ' sahib' who first visited 
them with the word of life. 

" In one district he spent a week, shut up by a storm, and 
the impression made upon the man in whose house he 
lodged never passed away. That man is now one of the 
most devoted Christians among the Nestorians, and one 
brother and two sons are hopefully pious. In a distant val- 
ley the people eagerly inquired for that blessed man, 
* Kasha Samuel.' He there also had been snow-bound, and 
left a savor of piety and such seeds of life as can never 
perish. In a Papal village, after a long day's ride, he 
found a company of men utterly ignorant, but willing to 
listen. Instead of retiring, he spent nearly the whole night 
in unfolding to them the way of life. These are but illus- 
trations of his labors in the long and often perilous journeys 
he made in Koordistan. 

" In those first years of his missionary life the sphere of 
his labors was not one to call out all his talents. But then 
and ever after his life illustrated one eminent missionary 
trait — viz., unceasing personal effort for the humble, the ig- 
norant and the lost. 

" He showed us all what the missionary should be in his 
daily intercourse and tours. His faith and love of souls 
transformed the weary, rugged paths into ways of pleasant- 
ness, and made many a wild and selfish mountaineer to feel 
the beauty and power of the cross and the throbbings of his 
own and the Saviour's love to the lost. 

" This entire consecration to the work of Christ was the 
commanding impression made by his life. No one could 
more truly say, ' I spend and am spent.' He loved to work ; 



360 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

and all the strength of his mind and body, and all the 
wealth of his affections and talents, were daily given to the 
blessed service of his Lord. 

" In the five years of my acquaintance with him memory 
can recall no act or sentiment or manner that did not bear 
the stamp of a pure and noble character. In all social in- 
tercourse there was such richness and versatility of conver- 
sational power, combined with such scrupulous regard to the 
feelings of every one, that his company possessed a charm 
and left a Christlike fragrance. In his presence every un- 
becoming thought or act was silently rebuked, and the -worst 
men for the time seemed inspired into something like sym- 
pathy with a higher life. 

" To his politeness were joined such scholarly and lin- 
guistic attainments, and such a fund of general knowledge, 
as always gave weight to his words even before the proud 
Persian khans and princes. 

'•' He had the eminent qualification of naturally and re- 
verently turning every topic into a spiritual and practical 
channel. I doubt if any one, whether European traveler or 
Persian noble or Koordish chief, ever resented as an in- 
trusion the subject of personal religion as introduced by 
him, and few indeed rose from an interview with him with- 
out having heard in some form his testimony for Christ. 

"In him was an. illustration of Christ's presence sought 
and realized in the midst of the most harassing cares. One 
day I remember on entering his roona he was talking with 
the Mussulman Mirza over a very perplexing matter of in- 
justice. The Mirza, Persian like, was full of futile com- 
promises and expedients. At last Mr. Rhea turned round 
to him with great earnestness, saying, ' I could not endure 
this for a day except as I take counsel with Jesus, and ask 
him to help me and help the right, and I cannot understand 
how you can endure it without such a refuge and friend.' 



HIS CHARACTER. 361 

The impression made upon the Mirza by such remarks is 
showed by his once saying, ' Mr. Rhea is full of beautiful 
preaching to us in the midst of all our business.' 

" He exemplified the duty of rendering service to the 
Lord in every item and detail of life. When pressed down 
by cares and labors uncongenial to his tastes, I have seen 
him still ajDply himself — for instance to moneyed accounts or 
perplexing details of business — with such serenity, patience 
and fidelity as left no doubt that his heart was rendering 
service to the Lord." 

THEOLOGICAL VIEWS AND STUDIOUS HABITS. 

"In his theological views and opinions," says his com- 
panion, Mr. Coan, " he sympathized strongly with his father, 
who was of Scotch descent and a thorough Calvinist in the 
best sense of the word. He used to say, ' I am a high Cal- 
vinist.' The soul-humbling views held and taught by that 
wonderful Reformer exerted a marked influence in moulding 
his character. His views of sin, as seen in himself, were 
especially clear and pungent, and led to great self-abhor- 
rence and exaltation of the free grace and sovereignty of 
God in Christ. 

"As a scholar he was studious, thorough, patient, perse- 
vering and accurate, never resting satisfied short of truth. 
His tastes were philosophical and linguistic. Amid varied 
and distracting mission labors he maintained scholarly 
habits to a remarkable degree or lie never could have left 
such a rich legacy to the N'estorians in beautiful hymns and 
commentaries on Matthew and the minor prophets. Nor 
could he have pursued his philological researches but for 
his persistency. His study was his home ; but how often, 
for many, many consecutive days, was he obliged to sit up 
late at night if he would prosecute his studies and still be 
ready with copy for the printers ! He wanted everything 

31 



362 TENNESSEE AN IN PERSIA. 

to go from him finished. During his first winter in Gawar 
he read carefully the entire Hebrew Scriptures. 

" His knowledge of the languages of Koordistan and 
Persia had prepared him to enter with great zest upon 
ti'anslating the Bible into Tartar Turkish ; and his daily 
recent habit was to carefully read his Greek Testament to 
better fit himself for the great work. His discourses to 
Armenians in that Tartar Turkish were exceedingly chaste 
and edifying. His last public discourse was in that tongue 
when at Tabreez. 

" His love for and study of God's word were remarkable. 
The Lord's secret was with him, and from concealed foun- 
tains, which the multitude rarely deign to visit, he drew 
living water, where men less imbued with the spirit of 
Christ would find nothing. His quick eye would detect 
bright, beautiful gems which seemed to ravish his soul. 
In our prayer-meetings, how ever varying and new and rich, 
were the lights in which they were displayed. How he de- 
lighted to hold up the sparkling jewels to our wondering 
admiration !" 

AS A PREACHER. 

As a preacher he was a prince. The glory and beauty 
of his sermons was Christ. He was enthusiastic, and his 
enthusiasm was to win souls to Christ. His evidently deep 
conviction of the truth of what he uttered, his earnestness, 
his burning eloquence swept all before him. No wonder 
efforts so strong were made to retain him in America, where 
he might have adorned any pulpit! Some have called him 
a Chrysostom. He had the flaming zeal of an Augustine. 
A Boanerges, he was also a son of consolation. How did 
he throw his whole soul into his discourses, and every 
muscle and fibre of his body seemed laid under contri- 
bution, while speaking eye and clarion voice gave forth the 
message of God to man ! 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

VOICES OP THE NESTORIANS. 

LET US give place, in the closing of our narrative, to the 
voices of the Nestorians of Persia and Koordistan with 
regard to him who laid down his life in serving them. Mrs. 
Rhea says of his bearing with them : 

" Though Mr. Rhea could be a terror to evil-doers, for- 
tunately this kind of work was not often called for. "We 
oftener think of him in his connection with the natives as 
a gentle shepherd and bishop of souls. I have very de- 
lightful memories of going with him to villages, where, 
visiting the people in their houses and churches, he ap- 
peared to the finest advantage. How soon and how easily he 
would bring the conversation to a spiritual turn! The 
name of Christ seemed to sound more naturally from that 
* golden tongue' than any other. Alas, with many worldly 
Christians it is like drawing eye-teeth to draw that name 
into the conversation ! He never could be long in a village 
without getting a circle of children around him to repeat 
the Lord's Prayer, the commandments or Scripture ques- 
tions, or to sing one of Zion's songs, 

"Even poor and ignorant women and heedless young 
girls have said to me with tears, 'Such and such a 
sermon of Rhea Sahib's is ringing in my ears. I shall 
never forget it!' The winter after his death, one day 
when I had come home from school and was giving the 
children bread and cheese, in walked, to share our simple 
lunch, John, the former pastor of Geog Tapa, one of the 

363 



364 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

first converts to the truth and the brightest light among 
the Nestorians — a flame of fiire among them ! His work 
now is itinerating. He goes from village to village, from 
church to church, rousing the backsliders and wakening 
the impenitent by the most pointed and earnest personal 
appeals in the pulpit ; a revivalist of the Boanerges stamp, 
doing a world of good, himself burning up with zeal that 
acts contagiously upon his sympathetic people. He took a 
seat and said earnestly : 

" ' I have come from Charbash. I bring glorious news 
of the work of salvation. Your husband's labors are reap- 
ing fruit, his prayers are being answered, his sermons are 
pricking men's hearts and rousing their consciences ; though 
dead and buried, he lives and works among us still ! This 
work is the power of God ! It is wonderful — strong men 
weeping, inquiring what they must do to be saved ; prayer- 
meetings crowded ; one hundred and fifty assembled this 
morning; the women are awakened, the children are inter- 
ested ! It is the work of God ! It is a glorious time ! Mr. 
Rhea's toils and prayers are seen and recognized, and they 
are bearing fruit. He is dead, but God has not forgotten 
them. His record is on high !' 

" Such earnest words ! Such beaming looks ! Such speak- 
ing gestures! Sueh news! I thought of Mr. Rhea, of his 
laborious and conscientious care of that village for years, 
his anxieties, his labors, his prayers, his faith in God. And 
now the answer and the fruit after he had gone to rest! 
My heart melted and my eyes overflowed. How true is 
God! 

" One day last term I gave our dear pupils for their com- 
position subject, 'Narratives of memorable days.' Sara, 
of Geog Tapa, wrote thus: 'There is a memorable day of 
last year which I can never forget. It was the holy Sab- 
bath (such a date), and, as our custom is, we went up to the 



VOICES OF THE NESTORIANS. 365 

house of God for worship. Rhea Sahib preached, and his 
text was the Prodigal son.' Then followed an analysis of 
the sermon in the order of its divisions, veiy well made out 
indeed for a Nestorian girl, showing how deeply it had im- 
pressed her mind and heart. ' When I came home,' she 
said, ' I went weeping to my prayer-closet ; I was not at 
rest ; neither did I find rest until, like the prodigal, as I 
hope, I arose and came to my Father !' 

" Some of Mr. Rhea's sermons are now vividly remem- 
bered among this people by distinctive names which they 
have given them, as ' The Sabbath-day sermon,' ' The Bible 
sermon,' 'The Passover sermon,' 'The Publican sermon,' 
'The Prodigal sermon,' 'The Lost sheep sermon,' 'The 
Heaven sermon,' ' The Women's sermon,' ' The Jerusalem 
sermon,' etc., etc."' 

The death of Mr. Rhea called out expressions on the part 
of his Nestorian pupils, hearers and associates that have a 
double interest. In their immediate relations to him they 
properly belong to his memoirs, but they fittingly crown the 
record of his life by showing that his labors were not in 
vain. When first met by American missionaries the Nes- 
torians were as intellectually ignorant as they were morally 
benighted. What they now are may be inferred by the 
thoughtful after a perusal of extracts from a few of the 
tributes to the memory of their beloved guide. We give 
first a letter to Mrs. Rhea 

FEOM YOHANNAN, 

A literary helper of Mr. and Mrs. Rhea, who was much with 

them. 

October 25, 1865. 

My dear, honoeed Mother: — Respecting that good 
and blessed father, resting from his toil, Mr. Rhea, be as- 
sured that this grievous chastisement of God which has 

31® 



366 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

fallen upon you is not for you only, but is such for all our 
Nestorian people. It especially seems to me that God has 
crushed me in taking that honored father. 

Truly, fresh before my eyes are his walk and his zeal, 
and his love and the spiritual feelings he habitually had in 
this world. His holy walk seemed to me a most humble 
one. When I reflected on that walk I obtained a spiritual 
frame from his blessed example. His zeal also was most 
evident. He longed to rouse every soul to his lost con- 
dition, and of every nation of whatever religion, Nestorian, 
Mohammedan or Jew. He had great love for every mortal, 
loving every one as an own son. As the pot that boils over 
the fire, so fervent was his love to every one ; that love held 
forth an example for reconciliation to any who were at 
variance or alienated from each other. His spiritual feel- 
ings were also very ardent. When he spoke or preached, it 
was by the spirit holding forth the mystery of the gospel ; 
as Moses spake from the mouth of God so spake this our 
blessed father. I can sa)'^ of him as of Enoch, " He walked 
with God, and was not, for God took him." 

May we walk in his footsteps, and be spiritual kindred 
with him in the kingdom of our Father in heaven. 

Dear mother in Christ, please excuse me. Being sick, I 
could not write to you immediately, and I came three times 
to condole with you, but you were not in the city. Be 
comforted. 

FROM DEACON SIMON, 

A former pupil of Mr. Rhea. 

Gawar, October 12, 1865. 
To THE PATIENT IN TRIBULATION, MrS. RhEA, GREET- 
ING :^I have recently heard those tidings so bitter to the 
heart respecting Mr. Rhea, that blessed guide, the honored, 
the patient in every way, that prince of preachers, so loving 



VOICES OF THE NESTOEIANS. 367 

to our people and to every man ; so just, so good, so meek, 
suffering for the sake of Christ ; so studious and thoughtful 
for the weal and welfare of our people. 

Of course we must grieve greatly under the chastisement 
with which the Lord has visited us, for it is the bitterest 
of all the chastisements that we have hitherto received. 
This is the most severe rod of the Lord that he has laid 
upon his afflicted people. 

When the sorrowful news reached my ear in Dizza, it 
filled my heart with sorrows as though coals of fire had 
been laid upon it and burnt it to a crisp. Then I remem- 
bered two of his sermons which he preached at Seir. One 
of them was last year at the last assembly. He preached 
in the evening. The preachers (Nestorian) were all as- 
tonished. He made an impression on the people as if 
God had come down into the assembly. The second was 
on the prodigal son. On this he had five topics. I do 
not believe it will ever leave my memory, I often think of 
these sermons. I grieve that he has left us ; that his voice 
will no more fall upon our ears till our final meeting before 
the feet of our dear Saviour. 

I recall, too, when he accompanied us a little way when 
we started for Gawar, he said, " Simon, are you sorry to be 
separated from your family ?" I said, " Of course, sir, a 
man is sorry ; but what alternative is there ? We must 
suffer for the sake of Christ." He encouraged me and 
strengthened me for my journey, accompanying me a little 
way. 

Verily, how strange it is that such a man should so soon 
taste the cup of death. When we witness such dreadful 
events it is proper that we sorrow and pray to the Lord that 
he may fill the aching void. If I thus recall him, how 
much more do you ! But there is one thing : the almighty 
God of the covenant can comfort you. He has said, " I 



368 TENNESSEE AN IN PEESIA. 

will sustain you in all your afflictions," etc. Certainly by 
these promises you may be comforted and pass the time of 
your sojourning in the world till the Lord carry you to 
meet him in those upper mansions which Christ has pre- 
pared for those who love him. Since Christ willed that he 
go' up to him and be free from a world of sorrow and toil, 
and free from the bands of sin, strive all you can to ascend 
to where there is no sorrow for ever. God cares for all the 
broken-hearted. May he heal the wounds he has inflicted, 
and give comfort and consolation, and support you so long 
as you are in the world, and be merciful to your little ones, 
a father to these orphans and the widow's God. Amen. 

Farewell. From Simon, son of Joseph, of Goolpashin, 
who am in Gawar, in the village of Chandewar. 



FROM DEACON TAMO, 

An aged and very eloquent Nestorian preacher in Koordistan, 

who will he recalled as suffering so sorely at the hands of the 

Turks. 

Memikan, September 20, 1865. 

My dear Sister, Mrs. Ehea : — I, Deacon Tamo, must 
greatly sorrow for the death of my dear brother, Mr. Khea, 
with whom for ten years I have journeyed to Amadiah, to 
Mosul, etc., and have dwelt with him here, and often en- 
gaged with him in the study of the holy Scriptures, and 
never for a day wearied of him. 

When Mr. Rhea left us, and we knew that he would come 
no more to us, fresh sorrow arose in my heart as at the 
great meeting in the city, when I got up and said, " The 
door to the mountains is closed," and my heart was ready 
to abandon the ministry ; such sorrow filled my heart for 
parting with that blessed man. And now how great is the 
bitter grief for the death of that holy man among his 



VOICES or THE NESTORIANS. 369 

friends ! Alas, I had hoped to see Mr. Rhea this year, but 
death forbids it ! 

It is true that a great leader has fallen from the earthly 
Church ; but it is more true that a shining star has been 
added very near the sun, and there are tidings of great joy 
in the churches of heaven. What more can we say ? The 
Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the 
name of the Lord. We have feasted on his instructions ; 
we have seen his beautiful example. What then can we 
do or say for the assuaging of our grief? We can only 
long to have our portion and heritage with him. My dear 
sister, what grief you have ! I hope that the Lord Jesus, 
with the same hand that smites and wounds, will also heal 
and comfort you. The Lord bless you and soothe your sor- 
rowing heart, 



LETTER OF CONDOLENCE FEOM MARY, 

A pupil of the Nestorian Female Seminary, to Mrs. Rhea. 

Oroomiah, January 22, 1866. 
My dear Friend, Mrs. Ehea : — Great love and salu- 
tations of peace do I pour upon you, honored guide. For 
a little time I now desire to withdraw my thoughts from the 
world, which is vanity ; from everything therein, to think 
of you, sweet lady, whose life has been made bitter by the 
Almighty. It is not you alone that tastes bitterness for that 
blessed father, Mr. Khea ; I also taste that bitterness with 
you. When I think of the great love which Mr. Rhea has 
shown for us, and when I recall his kind words to us ; and, 
further, when I remember that we shall hear his sweet 
counsels to us no more, truly I cannot tell you how much 
my heart is weighed down with sorrow. Not for me only 
had he love, but for our whole nation, poor, fallen and 
down-trodden, crushed under the manifold oppressions of 

Y 



370 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

the Mohammedans. I remember how much care he used 
to take for all these things. Whoever came to him on 
these matters he sent not empty away nor unheeded, but 
would always exert himself for him. 

Not only had he love for us in these things, but he had a 
yet more ardent desire to draw souls under the bleeding 
cross of our dear Saviour, to point the way of life to perish- 
ing ones, to show the strait gate unto pilgrims laden 
under the heavy burden of sin — the path leading onward to 
the blessed Zion — and to acquaint them with all the dif- 
ficulties and dang^s that would befall them on their 
pilgrimage. Ci ■ 

We saw him ever longing for poor souls among all our 
people, that they might find salvation. And when he pre- 
vailed the tears would roll down his cheeks, made beautiful 
by the love of the dear Saviour. His words were like sharp 
arrows, piercing through the hearts of lost sinners, that were 
as hard as a flint. Truly, he was a watchful shepherd over 
the sheep that strayed far from the fold of Christ. He was 
ever wakeful for conversation with men about their souls, 
urging them to find Christ as their portion, their refuge and 
their salvation. 

Verily this loss has not fallen upon you alone, not upon 
the band of the beloved missionaries alone, nor on our own 
family alone, but upon all our poor fallen nation ; the crown 
of our people is cast down ; the golden chain has fallen from 
the neck of our king ; we are desolate and without a leader. 
Our nation is left an orphan, even like his own little or- 
phans. His words have left an " aching void" in the hearts 
of his hearers. Truly the memory of him is more pleasant 
than anything else in the world. It is not possible for us to 
forget him — ^those among our people who have tasted his 
love — till our tongue shall be silent in the grave. 

In a word, if we were to narrate everything of his walk. 



VOICES OF THE NESTOEIANS. 371 

paper would not suffice, even for the little tliat we know of 
him. 

Truly, it is meet that we lament over the great breach 
that hath come upon us. We remain like the fowl, her 
wings clipped so that she cannot fly to make any shift for 
herself. Then, on every hand, whatever this empty world 
may promise, our refuge is to lean on our dear Lord and 
Saviour. 

I would speak a little of myself. As I hope, about two 
years ago I committed my soul to the dear Saviour, who 
was offered up a sacrifice for me a noor sinner. I was 
bound fast in the fetters of sin, bui, w am I loosed from 
them all, as I hope, and bound unto him from whom may I 
never be loosed. One Sabbath we went to the house' of 
prayer; Mr. Rhea preached a very delightful sermon on 
the subject of the prodigal son. It made a very deep 
impression on me; even unto the present time it affects 
me. 

Truly, I have great affection for you, my beloved friend. 
Never are you forgotten by me, especially when I bow be- 
fore our Father in heaven ; and yet more when I see you 
crushed and bruised under the stripes of the soul. 

Again, when I look on your family, left desolate, without 
guide and protector, truly my heart is very full. A very 
grievous chastening hath indeed fallen upon you. The 
hand of the Lord hath touched you. It hath borne from 
you your head. It hath taken the taste from your mouth. 
But though the Lord hath chastened you he can heal your 
broken heart. Moreover, for our profit he chastiseth us. 
We know not as he knoweth. Then let us lean upon the 
arm of the Lord. 

Please remember me in your prayers, that I may advance 
in everything spiritual. 
Kow abide in peace. , 



372 TENJSTESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

From a sharer in your grief, Mary, daughter of Jacob, 
of the city, to Mrs. Rhea. 

DEACON YONAN. 

The following memorial address was delivered before the 
" General Assembly," at the annual meeting of the Nes- 
torian laborers in the mission work, a few days after the 
death of Mr. Rhea, by Deacon Yonan. It is translated for 
us by Dr. Perkins, who says : " It was finely delivered, and 
left a profound impression on the audience ; in itself, also, 
it is deeply interesting." We give it at length as a sample 
of Nestorian oratory : 

" How are the mighty fallen /" 

This is a question which oft arises in my mind in these days, 
and I think in the minds of all the members of our churches. 
When one turns his thoughts from the things of the world 
and contemplates the course of events and changes that 
have passed over us in the last two years, the providences 
of God appear very dark and marvelous. It seems as 
though the Lord had begun at his own house, and com- 
menced the work of judgment there. When we survey in 
order these events, and walk through the ranks of our 
spiritual army, we see our chief and brave ones fallen, both 
in the circle of our missionary guides and of our own num- 
ber. Those we most needed — the pillars of our churches — 
those of whom we have been wont to say, If this or that 
one were not, our work would go to ruin and no more movo 
forward. Now the wonder is that these are the very ones 
who have been chosen. And we who remain, as we medi- 
tate on the work on earth, on the banner which they sup- 
ported now fallen, on their homes and their families, widows 
and orphans ; that some have returned to their native land 



VOICES OF THE NESTOEIAKS. 373 

and some are in our midst to renew our grief, our heart can- 
not help groaning out, Oh how are the mighty fallen ! 

On yonder hillside sleep Mar Elias and the Melek, vete- 
ran soldiers in the service. A little this side of the river- 
bridge, on the plain, rises white the tomb of Deacon Joseph. 
In the narrow porch of the church of St. Mary rests Deacon 
Isaac. Priest Meerza sleeps in Saralan. And other dis- 
tinguished individuals of our number have fallen here and 
there. Beyond the mountains of Koordistan Dr. Grant, 
the first-born of our martyrs, laid his head, and the wild 
Arabs walk around his dust. The snows and the tempests 
of Gawar sweep over the graves of Mr. Crane and the 
first Mrs. Rhea. The marked heroes of our age, Stocking, 
Stoddard, Breath, Thompson, Wright, with ladies, maidens 
and sweet infants, are on the mounds of our country, and 
the gentle breezes of our mountains breathe over their dust. 
And last of all, a bitter voice astounds us, like the thunder 
of heaven in a clear day, that the strong man, Samuel Rhea, 
has fallen on the desert of Ali Shah ! pouring perpetual 
anguish through the heart of his widow and unceasing 
grief through the circle of his associates ; and the ranks 
and lines of the hosts of the Nestorians are convulsed by 
the shock. The soil of Persia never received to its bosom 
a mortal form superior to that of Mr. Rhea ! 

My friends, when we look at the usefulness of these brave 
and blessed men, and their needfulness to the work and to 
their poor families, we exclaim in astonishment. How are 
the mighty fallen ! And I believe, too, that our hearts 
chill and our hands hang down, and hope dies within us. 
But this is our weakness, and it is not becoming. Why 
should we sorrow as those without hope ? Though we are 
greatly afflicted and distressed by their fall, and their place 
is vacant in the ministry here, still to sit and sorrow only 
will be but to put far back the work which they bore upon 

.32 



374 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

their shoulders and carried so nobly forward. Methinks 
that a work yet more necessary and important has fallen 
upon our hands, and demands of us to take courage and 
strengthen our hands that hang down for that work, and 
confirm our feeble knees and clothe ourselves with a double 
portion of their spirit. The cross they bore over plains 
and mountains, and through valleys and gorges, and through 
cities and villages, while they manfully performed their 
ministry, it is ours now to take up. Let the beautiful ex- 
ample of ancient Scotland energize us. It was, that their 
chiefs were wont to assemble and arouse their armies by a 
herald bearing a flaming and bloody cross, when the enemy 
invaded their country, or an emergency fell suddenly upon 
them. Their chief would slay a lamb and their priest 
make ready a cross from light wood and kindle it with fire, 
and dip its flaming head into the blood of the lamb and lift 
it on high, all smoking and dripping, while he exclaimed : 

" As this cross passes from man to man, 
The chief summons you to your clan ; 
Blighted be the ear that does not listen, 
Palsied be the foot that does not hasten." 

Then he delivered it to the faithful herald, who bore it 
speedily to the next village and passed it to the head man 
there, and only hastily pronounced the name of the place 
of the army's meeting. Whomsoever the cross reached, he 
held himself bound by solemn oaths and under fearful im- 
precations to send it on to the next village, until it thus 
passed rapidly through the country in a very short period. 
At the sight of it every man from sixteen to sixty must 
hasten to the place indicated. What a sight was that! 
The running herald of the bleeding, smoking cross — herald 
after herald seizing it — none letting it fall to the ground, 
and even if his lips parched and peeled from thirst, never 



VOICES OF THE NESTORIANS. 375 

stopping to drink water. He leaped over mountains ; he 
darted across morasses ; he speeded over plains, and tarried 
not till he reached his goal and accomplished his object, 
and the bleeding cross had passed through the domain, and 
its echo reached every man. Then every horse was equip- 
ped, and men hastened from the mountains and the valleys. 
The fisherman left his net ; the smith his hammer and his 
anvil ; the shepherd his flock ; the husbandman his plough 
in mid-furrow ; every man is ready for the service of his 
chief. 

This work, my friends, rests upon us. The heralds gone 
before us have thus fulfilled their ministry ; and we are 
bound by solemn vows and fearful covenants not to let the 
cross fall to the ground. 

Reflect a little on the example of Mr. Rhea. With what 
courage and zeal he took up the cross and bore it speedily 
through the mountains of Koordistan ; through cities and 
villages and provinces, inviting men to cleave to the ban- 
ner of salvation ! With what diligence and earnestness he 
toiled till he fell in this service ! Oh that he were now in 
our assembly ! How much we miss him ! What a weight 
of sorrow is mingled with our joy ! But since he has gone, 
and cannot be with us, how suitable that we now meditate 
on his example and character, and take his track and fol- 
low in his footsteps. 

The afifecting circumstances of his death you have heard 
from Mr. Coan, and you will read them in the "Bays of 
Light" for this month, from the pen of Mr. Perkins. I 
shall therefore not recount them here ; but I will mention 
briefly some of the prominent traits of his character. 

1. One conspicuous trait in his character was his zeal. 
Few are they who have exercised zeal like his in service 
for the poor Nestorians, both in spiritual things and for 
their temporal welfare. You remember with what de- 



376 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

votion and ardor he passed a portion of his life in the vil- 
lage of Memikan, there, alone in the snows and tempests 
of Gawar, proclaiming the gospel to lost souls. I once 
made a visit thither. I saw his location, his toil, his pa- 
tience, his zeal, and I said in my heart. Verily he is a brave 
man. And you remember his wearisome journeys among 
the rugged mountains of Koordistan ; his zeal for the bleed- 
ing cross bore him on among them, traveling much of the 
way on foot to fulfill his heraldship. 

What zeal he evinced also for the temporal well-being of 
our people ! What sighs did he draw when he saw our op- 
pressions ! As one might say, he burned up with zeal and 
spent himself all he could to bring us relief. With what 
zeal and ardor did he engage last year from early morning 
till late at night for ten successive days, not having time 
and rest even to eat his bread, that he might rescue a poor 
girl from the hands of her Mohammedan kidnappers ! 
Great was his wearisome toil for us, which must never be 
forgotten. Let us now show our gratitude to him in kind- 
ness to his widowed lady, now in the midst of us, by shar- 
ing her sorrow and comforting her who has lost so dear and 
precious a husband (she will find him in heaven) ; as much 
as in you lies, all ye Nestorians, show to her respect and 
kindness, and let us all trj'- to copy his example of zeal in 
service for his Master, seeing that his toils have not been 
in vain. 

2. Do you remember with what ardor he preached f His 
countenance glowed like the countenance of an angel. The 
truths that proceeded from his lips were watered and sown 
by the Holy Ghost. What a loss we sustain ; that his place 
cannot be filled ; that we have lost those pungent sermons, 
and shall hear them no more ! Would that their impres- 
sion might not be wiped out from our hearts. His 
voice, his words, his countenance, his action in the pulpit 



VOICES OF THE NESTORIANS. 377 

and the instructions of his sermons, all so blended and so 
drew out the heart as to constitute Mr. Rhea chief among 
preachers. He preached as though the truths he uttered 
were not intended to display his wisdom or were for others 
only ; he himself was awake to their importance, and was 
deeply impressed by them; and with longing ardor and 
earnestness of soul he sought to rouse those also who heard 
him to their importance. One of the great sorrows that he 
bore about with him was the lack of the outpouring of the 
Holy Spirit. For the last year and a half that I have been 
more acquainted with him and have written letters for him 
to various places (as his amanuensis) which were under his 
supervision, this was the great subject to which 1 e sought 
to rouse his helpers — our need of the Holy Spirit to be 
poured out upon our assemblies. To one of them he wrote, 
" Oh how I should rejoice to hear that there is a revival 
there !" 

3. His humility. Though he was a man of wise counsel, 
the like to whom there was none among us, he still was not 
deaf in his wisdom. He condescended to take counsel and 
inquire of men much below him, both in regard to the work 
of the Lord and on worldly subjects, accounting himself as 
a fellow-laborer and not as chief and lord of the heritage. 
The helpers who were under his supervision remember that 
for the welfare of the work of the Lord he would ask them. 
What do you think, priest or deacon ? Which course is most 
advisable? What do you counsel? If you see that my 
advice is not best, do as you judge preferable, no matter for 
my opinion. Thus he impressed them with the idea that 
they also had responsibilities, and were not merely to lean 
on the counsel of others. He was very meek, condescend- 
ing to seek out and converse with individuals about their 
souls. He would go out and sit in the dusty streets of the 
villages and mingle with men in their conversation, and 

32 » 



378 TENNESSEEAN IN PEESIA. 

gradually turn it to spiritual things. Once I recall, a com- 
pany was sitting in the street and conversing ; he from his 
room heard their voices and came down and sat with them, 
and mixed in their talk and little by little turned it to the 
salvation of the soul, and so discreetly and feelingly con- 
versed with them that men very hardened and their hearts 
filled with the matter of their worldly deliverance, sighed 
out, " It is true ; till we go to Christ there is no relief 
for us." 

4. Mr. Rhea was a peace-maker. When he saw divisions 
in the church and Christians alienated from each other, or 
Nestorians at variance, clique against clique, or individual 
against individual, he was in deep sorrow, and would use 
all his skill and ability to restore peace between them ; and 
he sorrowed that our nation was not united. He would say 
very often. Until this people strive together in love, in coun- 
sel, in union, there is no relief for it. He tried all he could 
to promote peace. He accounted this nation his own nation. 
When he spoke of the business of the church or worldly 
things, he identified himself with the people, and used the 
terms we and ours. In a word, he was one with us, and 
shared in our joys and our sorrows. 

5. Again, Mr. Rhea was a very just man, and without 
partiality. I have heard differing parties of Nestorians 
speak of him. When they had a case that could not be 
settled by any others, they would wind up by saying, " Let 
us go to Mr. Rhea and Deacon Isaac ; whatever they say 
we will accept." The Nestorians were so well acquainted 
with these two blessed men, and so assured that they were 
strictly just in their decisions and possessed a keen per- 
ception to discern and a sound judgment, that they readily 
committed to them their final and lasting settlements. 
They were both wonderful men in their keen insight and 
strict justice. Their thoughts were law not only for mem- 



VOICES OF THE NESTORIANS. 379 

bers of the church, but also for all Nestorians in general ; 
those outside of the church also responding to their 
decisions. 

6. Mr. Rhea could not 6§ imposed upon. He was so wise 
and discriminating that he instantly saw through a matter. 
However much the guilty and faulty betook themselves to 
flattering words and (seeing that Mr. Rhea returned no 
hard words) supposed they had accomplished their purpose, 
in conclusion, in one short answer, they would see that Mr. 
Rhea was not moved from the right ; that he stood firm ; 
that he was not to be jostled, but was stayed like a rock in 
its place. Those who went to him thus learned that they 
must do and say nothing aside from the truth ; for their 
artifice could have no influence whatever on him. 

7. His nobleness. Mr. Rhea was very noble. There is 
something in the disposition and bearing and acts and 
mien and conversation of men that marks them as low and 
ignoble, or places them in the higher grade of humanity. 
The noble traits are found in no man more than they existed 
in Mr. Rhea. We know not who were his parents or what 
his pedigree in the Anglo-Saxon race. The missionaries 
understand that better. But for myself, from the traits I 
have seen in him, when I compare him with the kind of 
distinction of nobility in Eastern lands, he seems to me a 
man of truly noble origin. If this is also the kind of no- 
bility that exists in the West, I err not when I say that Mr. 
Rhea was a nobleman of the human race. 

8. Again, Mr. Rhea was very courteous. Though a no- 
bleman by nature and gifted with the highest endowments, 
yet he was so courteous that he made himself noble indeed. 
For the most distinguished mark of nobility is to be cour- 
teous. The ignoble we distinguish by this, that when he rises 
to high rank or is superior in gifts, he is lofty and uncour- 
teous. But Mr. Rhea, though a missionary guide and a 



380 TENNESSEEAN IN PERSIA. 

man of exalted endowments, was yet one of the most cour- 
teous; so much so, that those who went to him, as one might 
say, an awe of diffidence fell upon them, and they exerted 
themselves and took all possible care not to return his 
courtesy with impropriety. 

My friends, in all his traits of character, taken as a 
whole, he was a complete man. Few are they who have 
left behind them a memory so fragrant. Great is our cause 
for sorrow in his loss ; that one so good, a preacher so 
powerful, a guide so gentle and wise, in the height of his 
strength has left us. He may be even more missed in the 
dimished band of his associates. Let them rest assured 
that their Nestorian friends* share with them in their sor- 
rows. As the representative of this assembly, and in its 
behalf, I tender to you our condolence; and to the dear 
widowed lady, may God comfort and support her in her 
affliction, and may he sanctify this mournful providence to 
the benefit of us all. 

What can we more say ? The Lord hath done it ; and 
who can stay his hand ? Though it seems such a loss to 
us, he knows what is best. Let us then be resigned to his 
will. Mr. Rhea has now rested from his toils. Sorrow and 
mourning remain only for us, his friends on earth. Would 
that there might be in this assembly Elishas on whom his 
mantle shall rest, and they be heralds of that cross which 
he so heroically bore and in whose service he fell. 



VOICES OF THE NESTORIAJSS. 381 

Near the monument of his father, in the village grave- 
yard at Blountville, Tennessee, has risen a monument with 
this inscription : 

OUR MISSIONARY DEAD 

WHO SLEEP IN 

PERSIA. 

SAMUEL A. KHEA, 

Died at Ali Shah, Persia, 

Sept. 2, 1865. 

Aged 38 Years. 

" Present with the Lord." 



HIS SON 
EOBEET LEIGHTON, 

Died at Oroomiah, Persia, 

May 21, 1865. 

Aged 1 Year. 

" To die is gain." 



Jl, 









,vX^-^' 



V •/', 



;^ -O. 






<S X<. \^^^ 



O^ s ■> ' * ^ 



^. 



\^'\- 






ft « 






-\^ 






s^%. 



rO 



^^ 0-, . 



-= S''''h. 









O^ s' 



^t- ^i^-jf^; 



^^-^ 



\^' '/-'^ 



.\ 










^^A 






.\0 


°^.- "^ 1 


'^- 


.^' 








>^ 









^- v^^ 



,#.^ 



.V^' V 



r., 



</> \>- :» > 




'<- s- 






,V -p. 


A? <^ ' 








■^^' ^ 




\- 


s:^' -:'/ 





